Father Fowl II
by dietcokemaniac
Summary: In this installment of the series, Artemis and the twins are suspected victims of child abuse and are removed from their home. Artemis Fowl II is a genius, and begins a plan to get his famliy back together again. LOTS of angst.Rated T for heavy themes.
1. Suspects

**A/N: Hello, fellow readers! Now that I have completed my first two stories, I just wanted to take the time to thank you all for supporting my continued stories. This thing here you're about to read is my second story in the Father Fowl series that I intend to write! But, before we begin, little Beckett has something to say!**

**Beckett: I bit Myles!**

**Myles strides in with an icepack on his arm**

**Myles: my god, you pull my hair, and now you have the audacity to actually sink your teeth into my arm! I was simply attempting to teach you how to dress properly!**

**Beckett (whispering): He's a simple-toon, Kristen. Don't listen to him. **

**Artemis strides in and scoops up the twins, grunting with the effort. **

**Artemis II: Up we go! Let's listen to her story! IN the meantime, I wanted to let you two play with dad while I went and took care of some schoolwork. **

**Myles: Please don't tell me that you will hack into her files.**

**Artemis sweats and tightens his tie.**

**Artemis: your presumptions are positively preposterous.**

**Me: XD OK, let's start the second story now!**

**Artemis creeps out of the room silently, and I think I know what's going to happen to my home computer, but what about now? I'm on a school laptop, of course! Hahaha! It's so fun to pretend to do work!**

Artemis Fowl the first watched his three sons rough housing outside. Beckett was pinning Myles down, and Artemis was tickling him pink. The summer was ending, and school would start for all three soon. But in this hot month of August, the boys couldn't care less about schoolwork. They were being kids again, and that is what their father and mother truly wanted.

He sipped his iced tea and looked over his e-mails before Angeline snaked her arms around his shoulders.

"Hey, you," She whispered, "the boys are out playing. Wanna have a little fun?"

At this suggestion, Fowl Senior chuckled.

"That's quite a thought, my love."

But before any kind of folly could commence, a ringing came from the door at the main entrance. After a few moments of silence, a social worker was invited into the house. A mild look of confusion crossed Mrs. Fowl's face as a large binder was placed on the kitchen table and the social worker sat down.

"May I offer you some tea, sir?" Mr. Fowl asked, still confused.

The social worker indicated a name tag and gave Mr. Fowl a card. He flipped it over and read the name John Silvernail. It was not long before Mr. Fowl had connected the dots. He knew that the only thing that warrented such a visit was a report of abuse, which was, of course, kept confidential. He would never know the person who had reported him to Health and Human Services. The social worker pushed his glasses up on his nose and looked to the worried couple.

In the meantime, Artemis II had his head thrown back in the dry, scratchy summer grass blades, wailing with laughter. Two little devils had their fingers dug into his sides, and he thrashed from side to side to no avail. The little demons had their grip, and they weren't intent on letting go. Artemis had no idea what was inside of the cool dark manor; he only knew what his brothers were pulling on him.

"Myles, aaahhh! Beckett! Stop this instant! I-hahaha! I warn-ah! You!"

"What're you gonna do about it, simple-toon?" Beckett screeched.

Myles, suddenly afraid that Artemis would be able to wrestle them off, ran away. Beckett was quick to chase him, and Artemis got off of the ground to chase his brothers into the shaded wood. The trees fanned out their green leaves to protect their heads from the oppressing August sun. The scent of pinecones, mulch, dirt, and flowers blurred in Artemis's mind, confounding his senses. He was in a haze, of sorts, as the twins evaded him by splitting. He absolutely hated it when this happened-now there was twice the problem.

But he loved it anyway. He knew that when the twins had run their fill, they would inevitably come tumbling back to his side, and a new game would commence. Perhaps a round of splashing in the stream? Indeed, the twins had it in mind this time. The brothers rushed towards Artemis, slightly wet from their own splashing. They tugged at his protesting arms and giggled like madmen.

"Oh, you little devils, you lead me to my demise! Water melts the great Artemis Fowl Junior! Father will not be pleased should his firstborn son be kidnapped by you two!"

"Arty's gonna get soaked!" Beckett squealed, tugging him further into the woods. The dreaded creek water awaited him, icy and ready to relieve his sweats and start chills.

Beckett was the first to scoop water up in his hands and splash it like paint across Artemis's shirt. He collapsed to his knees, feigning injury. He writhed as though boiling water had been dumped upon him as the twins did a successful job soaking him to the bone.

"No-o-o-o-o!" Artemis wailed, laughing as he did so. The twins finally stopped their soak fest and turned on each other, wrestling in the spring and not caring what might happen later.

After half an hour of chasing the tumbling twins back up to the house, Artemis decided that it was time to give them a bath. Before he did this, he decided to give them a home school lesson. He took their hands and offered them a hot bubble bath, to which neither of them objected terribly.

"Now, Myles, you are a scientist! Tell me what lives in the waters that we are soaked in now."

"You see, Artemis, the microorganisms that thrive in the water can pose a potentially malicious threat to our bodies. Should they be ingested, they can reproduce within us and cause multiple conditions in the digestive tract. On rare occasion, they are fatal and may require hospitalization."

"Ever the genius, Myles! But did you know that bacteria actually live within our digestive tracts? They help us digest..."

Beckett couldn't care less about the lesson Artemis was attempting to teach. He gazed out on the plains of the manor and felt content and peaceful. He truly loved this home and wanted to stay this age forever, so that he may continue to explore the endless forest and trails. However, he was about to get a nasty shock, just as his parents had.

In the cool manor, Mr. and Mrs. Fowl had just signed papers giving up their rights of custody. They were suspected of criminal activity, and Artemis Fowl Senior, for the second time in the past three years, felt a deep sense of shame for his criminal past. Now that it had been exposed to the state, he would be ruined. His children were obviously 'not suit to be parents' if the father was a notorious Criminal Empire head.

As Artemis II entered the cool shade of the manor, the sight before him sent a bolt of shock through his body. Father was shaking his head, putting it in his hands. Mother was starting to sob. A stern man in a suit with glasses glared at his father. The man had a binder and a pen, and signaled for Artemis to sit down with the twins.

"You have been deemed victims of child abuse. We must promptly remove you from this environment. I am Mr. Silvernail. Now, if you will, sit down and we will discuss the charges."

**A/N: OK, that starts my twisted story! This will be one of those starts out as an angst and ends well stories. Don't like, don't read! But, if you do choose to read, then thank you! Please leave some comments: Those are always good for my writing. **


	2. Goodbyes

Good-byes

A/N: OK, so here I am with a sobbing Beckett, an angry Myles, and a very PISSED Artemis Fowl II. Let's see what they have to say.

**Artemis II: You unbelievable lass from HELL! Why would you tear my family apart? **

**Me: Calm down, you know me! I'm going into the story with angst and out of the story with a family theme! So, sit back, give Beckett a lollipop or something, and enjoy the ride! You'll be surprised what I can do with a story!**

**Beckett: I want mum! **

**Myles: It's OK, little one, just think of the spider web! Wasn't that Orb Weaver pretty?**

**Beckett sniffles and nods, clinging to Myles. **

**Myles: I suggest that you hurry and type that new chapter before Artemis, who is clearly feeling homicidal, attacks your computer network at home.**

**Me: I'm on it!**

**Artemis: You'd better be!**

**Me: :P**

Artemis put both of his arms around the twins, who were to either side of him on a large couch across from the social worker. He pulled out the pen and a questionnaire form. Artemis, despite the fact that he couldn't read the questions, knew that it was regarding possible child abuse. Mr. Silvernail began his questions in a calm monotone. The twins clung to Artemis and remained silent. Beckett was terrified, and Myles was disgusted, too much so to speak. Artemis did the honor of speaking to a man who was about to destroy his family.

"OK, Artemis, did your father ever hit you?"

"No."

"Did he ever threaten you?"

"No."

"OK, and at any point, did your father ever touch you in an inappropriate place? It's OK, you don't have to be ashamed or upset. Just say yes or no."

"As a matter of fact, Mr. Silvernail, I wish to say more than just the obvious NO. You have clearly come here because somebody has given you a report of suspected abuse. I trust that the binder you lugged in here with you has a lot of falsified claims from the person who reported my father, and that if you investigate for sixty days, you will find no trace of child abuse in this manor. So, Mr. Silvernail, if you don't mind, I will be giving my twin brothers a hot bath now, and I expect that you will start your investigation, find nothing, and leave our family in peace."

Mr. Silvernail straightened his tie and looked over to the despairing parents in the kitchen. He cleared his throat and shook his head knowingly.

"Artemis, your parents have just signed a legal repeal of custody. They no longer have responsibility for your well being, and they have no rights as parents or guardians any longer. This binder that I am holding contains vital evidence of your father's criminal activity, and if he did half of the things that these files prove that he did, then there is no doubt in my mind that he is abusive."

Artemis sneered at his rival, determined not to give up.

"Why don't you show me the binder? Myles, Beckett, I want you to go upstairs with mother and take your bath. Stay in there as long as you like; this family won't be broken up by an…inferior mind."

Mr. Silvernail shook his head and sighed.

"Before you three siblings pack your bags, I will allow you to say your good-byes to your former parents. A car will arrive here at 8pm to pick you up and take you into a foster home. You will not be separated."

Artemis hugged his brothers tightly before they ran to mother and clung to her shaking frame. She sniffled and took them upstairs to give them their last bath in Fowl Manor. It was a heartbreaking moment in her history. Artemis could not stop the screaming voice in the back of his mind from cursing Mr. Silvernail from one end of the room to the other. Orion, thank God, was being silent for now. Over time, he had learned when it was unacceptable to push his alter-ego's buttons.

"I want to look at the 'evidence' Mr. Silvernail. I suppose that it will be quite amusing to see what you actually collected from these liars."

Mr. Silvernail nonchalantly dropped the binder next to Artemis and nodded for him to open it. It was at this point, Mr. Fowl came from the kitchen over to Artemis and put an arm around his shoulder. He was silent, but Artemis felt a warm series of drops falling into his raven hair. He knew that father was utterly defeated. The tears were of guilt. Having this knowledge, Artemis's stomach did a summersault. He opened the dreaded black binder with shaking hands and gazed in horror at the contents.

Endless accounts, accurate accounts, of Mr. Fowl's criminal involvement around the world were bragging to Artemis, causing further anxiety over the situation at hand.

_Father will never be able to disprove any of this! It looks like somebody in father's business had betrayed his trust. He must have been a rat of sorts! But did this man know…of course he did! What better way to destroy a man than to tear his family from him?_

"You look shocked, young Artemis. Let's not forget, this man is what we call 'unfit to be a father.' So, now that you have seen that our collected evidence is not 'falsified,' I would like to remind you again of what will happen tonight. You will be picked up at 8pm tonight, taken to a foster home, and kept with your two younger siblings. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Fowl?"

With that, the 'nice' social worker left without a word, leaving Artemis to quietly cry with his former father.

"I won't lose you, son. I swear it on my life!"

"Father, I will find a way out of this! I know it!"

The two broken Fowls held each other until Myles and Beckett ran down to their father for last hugs. Beckett stomped his feet and cried. Myles bit his lip for ten minutes and finally caved in. He jumped on his father and clung to him tightly, apologizing repeatedly. However, all hope was not lost. Artemis II was already formulating a plan in the back of his mind.

_It won't be long before I expose the bastard who did this._

Artemis knew that dinner that night would be impossible, so everybody just decided not to eat at the table. Mrs. Fowl packed the boys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to take with them. Artemis insisted that they would be fine after she clung to them, sobbing for ten minutes.

Right before they left, Angeline ran upstairs and got a wooden jewelry box from her bathroom. She quickly dug through it to find three lockets. She put them around the boy's necks and looked them in the eyes pleadingly.

"My precious sons, please, do not take these off! They will remind you to be strong. Arty, take care of my little twins. It's my last wish for you…"

The dreaded doorbell rang at 8PM, just as the ominous Mr. Silvernail had promised earlier. Bags packed with clothes and toys, the Fowl children left the grand entrance to their home. The orange hues of the summer sky were fading to a violet, and the moon was just becoming visible. Artemis looked to it and clung to the necklace that his mother had given him.

_I will not fail you, mother, father._


	3. A New 'Home'

A New Place Called Home

**A/N: Hello, dear readers! I just wanted to warn you of the angsty chapter that you are about to read. I never thought of it before, but now I am certain that this is this is the way to go!**

**Beckett nibbles at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Myles chucks his in the garbage can angrily, and Artemis glares daggers at me.**

**Myles: Artemis, should we kill her slowly or quickly?**

**Artemis: Considering that this is a fourth wall scenario in which we are aware of extraneous entities such as her, we should focus on the fact that she is in control of our fates in the story. Perhaps it would be best to allow her to continue and torture her into compliance! For example, little Myles, we could have butler *CENSORED* her until she writes us out of the foster home.**

**Butler: I'm on it, boss**

**Me: oh, *CENSORED* NO! I'll get writing, I promise! Butler, don't do anything you'll regret! Like *CENSORED* me!**

**Butler: O…K…Artemis, do you really think that this is necessary? She's writing now, isn't she?**

**Artemis: No, Butler, she is actually slacking off in school during her lunch period, in which she could have been studying for her upcoming Oceanography examination.**

**Butler narrows his eyes at me. Beckett starts to rough house with Myles and they wrestle into another room. I am alone with a very pissed couple of men. **

**Me: Hey, let's be reasonable…**

**Artemis: The twins are no longer able to be traumatized by any kind of foul play that they would have witnessed had they remained here. Butler, lock the door.**

**Me: Oh crap.**

**Myles and Beckett listen to screaming outside of the room. Beckett tugs at Myles's sleeve. **

**Beckett: Are they tickling her?**

**Myles: …**

**END for now!**

As the black Honda swung around a final turn in the two hour car ride, The twins jolted awake and Artemis quickly looked to them. They had both eaten their sandwiches after Artemis _insisted _that they do so for their strength. He had neglected to tell them that at most, the sandwiches had only 400 calories each, which wouldn't sustain them for half a day.

He did, however, take the time to observe where they were. During his criminal feats, he had learned much of the maps of the world. He could tell where they were, and even how to get back home. The driver stopped in front of a large yellow house with a sign out front. _**Jack's Home for young gentlemen. **_

Beckett tugged at Artemis's sleeve and looked up at him in questioning.

"It appears that we have arrived at our…temporary residence. I suppose that at this point, you should prepare yourself for meeting a few new people. There are likely five or more children who will be taking bed with us. I have no idea who the people who run this place are, but they are most likely a married couple."

"What of our Father," Myles asked, breaking the ice.

Beckett whimpered and looked at the couple strolling out to the car with smiles on their faces. Artemis had decided to tell Myles of father's future later. Now was the time to force smiles and compliance. He wanted to start out on a good note with the people who would essentially have control over the fate of his brothers.

_If I simply give them a good impression, they will deem me trustworthy, which means more time alone. I could then execute my plan in private._

Artemis got out of the car with the two terrified twins, held their hands, and strolled inside with the couple who were commenting on what 'lovely children' they were. Upon getting inside, the social worker who had driven the boys there took her leave. Right before she left, she knelt down to talk to the twins. They hid behind Artemis, and he in turn put his protective arms around them.

"Don't be scared, children. You're safe now."

Artemis waited until all the adults had their heads turned. He sneered at them and then waited for the 'tour' that their foster parents had promised. A bright blonde eyed woman beamed at them. Her husband, a brunette who was on the larger side, forced an obviously fake smile.

"Well, boys, let's get you settled in! It's up to you what to call us, but we prefer (we are telling you) that you call us Mr and Mrs Johnson," the tall blonde said.

"Of course, Ma'm. May I ask of you only one thing?"

"Yes, Artemis, what is it?"

"Please ensure that my brothers and I take a room together. I would very much appreciate it, as they are clearly in distress."

"We'll see what we can do."

The couple showed their new arrivals the kitchen, which had a large table with twenty seats (mismatched, to Artemis's distaste) and large cabinets filled with basic foods. Cereals, mac and cheese, peanut butter, jelly, bread, butter, eggs, milk, sandwich ingredients…Artemis took note of all of these and noted that he would certainly not be enjoying any caviar anytime soon.

The study was off limits, unless the father wanted to talk to one of the children. After that, the couple decided to show the children the playroom. Myles took no interest in any of it, but Beckett seemed to like the fact that the playroom was the largest room in the house so far. After showing them the basement, which none of the boys liked due to the spiders creeping over the floor, the couple led them up a set of creaking stairs.

The top story of the house looked like a hotel. The carpeted floor went down the middle of the corridor and on either side of the boys were rooms. Instead of the typical hotel numbers, various pieces of paper with artsy names scrawled across them were posted up on each door. A final room waited at the end of the hallway; this one had a piece of paper and a box of colored pencils right next to it. Artemis avoided cringing and squeezed his brother's hands.

"OK, here we are! Bedtime is right about now, so if you want, you can use the bathroom at the end of the hall, get unpacked, and get a good nights sleep."

Artemis waited for the couple to go downstairs before taking his brothers inside. Beckett, having an initial interest in art, decided to take it upon himself to make a paper label for the door. His expression was uncharacteristically grim. He used only the black pencil to scratch out edgy names. He didn't bother to look at it after the deed was done. He looked out of the window in the room and saw endless rows of houses. He pressed his forehead to the icy glass and bit his lip. The manor was nowhere in sight; for the first time, little Beckett was far from home.

Myles began to unpack his bag and folded his clothes neatly, placing them all in the bottom drawer of the bureau. He then collected his toiletries and went into the bathroom at the end of the hall for a few moments. While they had alone time, Artemis decided to speak with Beckett.

"Are you at ill ease?"

Artemis knew that it was a stupid question, but the situation at hand was very tense. For the first time in years, Artemis Fowl II was unable to think of anything good to say. He simply needed to listen to Beckett and base his responses on what Beckett said.

"I hate them."

Beckett shattered the silence with sharp words.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, I hate them. Both of them."

"Beckett, they did not put us in this-"YES they did!"

Beckett smashed his hands against the window. Artemis gasped slightly, believing that the window would shatter. But, of course, the windows were shatterproof. Artemis concluded that the children here needed to be in an unbreakable environment. He tried to ignore why this was so by observing Beckett, the epitome of an Irish child.

"Especially Dad! He was the one who they wanted to get in trouble, right?"

"Beckett, we must not think such things of our parents! Remember who gave you everything you had until now? They are the providers!"

"Well, I don't care! They can…they can just GO AWAY!"

Beckett broke down into tears then, smacking his palms on the window and gritting his teeth. The sobs were heart wrenching to Artemis, who attempted to comfort Beckett. Artemis put his arms around his younger brother, trying to silence him before he attracted unwanted attention. He was unsuccessful in this attempt, and soon he heard a knocking on the door.

In strolled Mrs. Johnson, less than thrilled in a nightgown, blond hair in disarray.

"Is there a problem? He's being rather loud so late at night!"

Artemis was about to counter her remark with a nasty comment on how her facade earlier was obvious, but he was silenced by what she did next. She crossed the room promptly, grabbed Beckett and shook him.

"Shut it! We had enough problems here without a spoiled brat like you crying! If you complain more, we'll kick you and your half-wit brothers out to the streets!"

Artemis's jaw dropped in shock as she struck him once and turned on her heel, slamming the door behind her. As Beckett crawled miserably over to Artemis for a hug, he simply remained in a state of shock until Myles came back in with a disturbed expression.

"I saw the whole thing from the hall. This place is terrible, Artemis! We have to leave and go somewhere…"

But Artemis was not focusing on Myles right now. He was simply trying to comfort Beckett, rocking back and forth, trying to hum him a lullaby that their mother used to sing. It seemed that after only one hour in this house, they had been separated from their loving parents for a year.


	4. Good Morning

Good Morning

A/N: Hello, loyal readers, how's it going? Oh, right, you feel sorry for the boys. Well, the good news is that in this chapter, you will find that the boys make some friends! YAY! And, they are sort of the 'rebel' type! So, try to dry your tears from the old chapter and start reading the new chapter! If you're weak-stomached, then avoid my next chapter! YAY!

**Artemis: …The torture didn't work, did it?**

**Me: Nope, I'm like rubber! I bounce back! Now, great Master Fowl, please watch as I work my magic!**

**OK, now onto the story! Characters are not mine, if they were, I'd probably do horrible things to 'em! Just kidding!**

Beckett and Myles curled up on either side of Artemis on the large bed. He told them a story to get them to sleep and then continued to plot. There was a new day ahead of them, which meant that he could carry out the first part of his plan.

He would start by contacting Minerva, asking her to track down the person who had filed the claims, and locating them. After this, he would expose their criminal activities, relay the information to the social workers, and destroy the man's credibility. Artemis also had a backup plan.

Should any part of this plan fail, which was likely considering how 'dimwitted' Minerva was in comparison to Artemis, he was to run away with the twins. He knew that it had to be perfect, and he also knew that in a house full of children his age or younger, this plan would be complicated.

Should the children not trust him, he deduced, they would inform the foster parents of their attempted escape. This is precisely why he intended to build positive relationships with every child there. Better to have connections in a strange place than enemies. He thought back to a summer day when Myles and Beckett had been fighting. When Beckett had attempted to sneak out of the house one night, Myles had sung like a Canary to Mr. Fowl. He knew that if the twins had not been at odds that day, young Beckett would not have had his iPod taken away for three weeks.

_So, tomorrow, I will gain connections, form bonds, and get information from the foster children here. That way, Beckett and Myles wont spend the next ten years in this hellhole. _

But that was for tomorrow, and now as the moon beams danced on the bed sheets, Artemis yawned and fell asleep, protecting the twins with his arms.

The next morning, a scream woke most every child in the house. Artemis jolted awake and looked to the twins, who were startled. He thanked God that they were safe and listened to Mr. Johnson's footsteps rushing down the hallway. He heard an urgent shouting match through the closed door. Sunlight burned through the sheets, and it took him a few moments to register that it was, indeed August, and the lovely foster home didn't have an air conditioning system.

"NO, Daddy! No! Don't! STOP!" The young boy shrieked, thrashing about in his bed.

"It's OK, you're not home, you're here, with us! Please, just calm down! I'll buy you candy!"

"W-what about daddy?"

"It's OK, Connor, he is in jail, facing charges. Don't be afraid, now, there, that's it. Deep breaths. I'll get some water, and after you've calmed down, you can eat breakfast with us! Doesn't that sound good?"

**Sniffle** "Thank you, Mr. Johnson."

"Good boy."

Artemis heard the sounds of the other children stirring awake from a hazy nights sleep. The hot sticky summer night had left his sheets soaked. The twins didn't help him in his overheating dilemma, but he knew better than to force them away from him at a time like this. Family, he had learned, was the only permanent thing in his life. He had to cherish them always and protect them.

"Artemis? Why did I dream of spiders last night?" Beckett asked, stretching.

Artemis was about to answer the question when he froze. His countenance contorted into shock, then anger, then eventual rage. Beckett whined and crawled over to Myles, who had a sad expression and shook his head as Beckett tried to cling to him.

"It's not that you're the thing that's making him upset, it is what your face looks like after…last night." Myles deduced softly.

Beckett cocked his head and jumped off of the bed, rushing to the bathroom. He got there right before an older teen-aged boy, who allowed him access after seeing his face. Beckett took a close look in the small mirror. A bruise had just started to develop over the eye that was punched yesterday. Silent and resolute, little Beckett turned on his heel and went back into the bedroom.

At breakfast, after all ten children had washed up, they rushed down the stairwell to the breakfast table. Boxes of cereal were put out for them, as well as milk. Artemis noted that the cereal was cheap and sugary. He hated the fact that for the first time in his life, breakfast was not gourmet food prepared by his trusted bodyguard, Domovoi.

Beckett was not picky at all and dug right into a bowl of Reese's Puffs Cereal. He munched away silently and Myles exchanged a distasteful look with Artemis.

"I simply cannot condone my brother consuming such…processed trash."

"Indeed, Myles, I concur. However, should we desire the favor of this group of people, we must endure and eat as they do. It will help us form positive relations to these connections. Do you recall what I have told you about connections in a new environment?"

"They are priceless," Myles recited.

"Indeed, my genius. Now, if you would, please help yourself to the healthiest cereal here. I will help you."

Artemis ran his spidery fingers over multiple neon colored boxes before he touched hands with his younger sibling. They had both touched the box labeled 'Cheerio's'

"Very well, then, let us eat."

Artemis squeezed himself in between Beckett and Myles as they all ate among mild conversation between various friends at the table. They all spoke in soft tones and murmured about the new arrivals. Artemis had never felt such isolation as he did now, a rich boy amongst the sadder side of society. He took the time to reflect upon breakfast at Fowl Manor. He tried to take the bites of Cheerio's as an omelet with cheese and peppers, or a toast covered in the finest butter or jam. He successfully consumed his first 'commoner' breakfast without vomiting.

Beckett and Myles finished before he did and had turned to the other children there, attempting to introduce themselves. After a few moments, all of the children grew silent. Even the clinking of spoons in their bowls ceased. Artemis would have questioned this silence, but any questions that he had within his breast were answered by a tense presence.

Mr. And Mrs. Johnson stood observing the table and Mrs. Johnson spoke quietly. She was dressed up now, and looked nothing like the disarrayed woman who smelt of booze last night. She looked quite like a businesswoman.

"Now that you all have eaten breakfast, I want you to clean your plates and wait for me to leave for work. Mr. Johnson will be watching you until I come home at six. If any of you misbehave, you know the consequences of your actions."

With that statement, Mrs. Johnson walked out of the house and slammed the door behind her; one last warning to the misbehaving children of the table. It did not take long for Mr. Johnson to approach the Fowl trio. He knelt down and looked at Beckett.

"Please, don't be afraid of me. I just want to see your face, son," he kindly said.

Beckett grudgingly did so, glaring into the man's eyes. He was upset, and he was about to let this man know that.

"If the social workers took us here to make us safe, then why would one of the people running this place give me a bruise?" Beckett asked slowly.

"She wasn't herself…she gets too much to drink sometimes. It's really OK, son, just don't talk to her when she looks the way she did last night. Her childhood wasn't the best. She wanted to go into foster care because her own daddy did this kind of thing. I can help you, just rely on me. Don't go to her with anything," Mr. Johnson explained.

Beckett solemnly nodded and gazed upon his two suspicious brothers. He leaned close to Mr. Johnson and whispered.

"I don't think the simple-toons trust you."

"It's OK, Beckett, they have to trust somebody at some point," Mr. Johnson whispered back.

He then stood up and patted Beckett on the head before going to the freezer to make an icepack. He wrapped a plastic baggie full of ice in a dishtowel and handed it gingerly to Beckett, who was now starting to warm up again. After Mr. Johnson gave him a treat (Candy, of course), Beckett was back to his usual sunny self. He ran to his brothers and grinned.

"I got candy," the little blonde bragged. After that, he bounced along after the other children to the playroom. Myles and Artemis sat down at the table and began to talk.

"Alright, Myles, now we will speak of father. You wished to know of his…fate as you called it?"

"Yes, Artemis, I am quite convinced that after hearing the episode this morning, father will be placed in…a detention center of sorts."

"It is quite likely, but they must actually conduct a sixty day investigation. Should they find the allegations to be true, father will be sent to a penitentiary where he could face…"

Artemis tried to recall the exact dimensions of the binder that Mr. Silvernail had wielded upon his intrusion of Fowl Manor.

"I would say up to ten years in prison, should the judge of his case be merciful."

Myles bit the inside of his cheeks, a common practice that the stoic youth had employed in order to avoid bursting out into sobs. Artemis knew this well and placed a consoling hand on the youth's shoulder.

"If you wish to express yourself, then I won't hold you back. However, I would avoid it around Beckett. He tends to mirror you in your actions," Artemis said, waiting for the tears to flow. After a while, Myles wiped his eyes, took a deep breath, and stood up.

"I believe it is time to start making connections, Artemis. Let us proceed to the playroom."

"That idea is brilliant, professor Myles," Artemis smirked playfully.


	5. The Rebels

The Rebels

**A/N: AWWW YEAH! REBEL TIME, HELL YEAH! LET'S GET THAT MEAN OLD WITCH!**

**Says the group we're about to meet. They're rough, they're tough, and now, let's talk to the Fowls, see what they're up to!**

**Angeline: You bitch! You took my babies! I'll…I'll…*Bursts out into sobs***

**I turn to Artemis I and grin like a Cheshire cat.**

**Artemis I: Don't look at me, you devil spawn. Just get writing!**

**Butler: Sir, should I implement torture?**

**Artemis I: No, my good man, just let her write my sons home. That's the best course of action I'm afraid…  
**

**Me: Damn, gotta get writing.**

In the playroom, Beckett had a young blonde child enthralled by his progressing painting of an orb weaver on it's dew dipped web of crystals. Mr. Johnson was in the study, waiting for the first scraped knee or bitten arm. Artemis made his way over to the group of teenagers, of which there was four.

The first one that bothered to talk to him had a rugged appearance. He had not brushed his hair, causing it to constantly be in a state that a brown bush would be in. He wore torn jeans with chains and a short sleeved loose tee shirt. His lip was pierced and he gazed at Artemis with shocking green eyes.

"Hey, name's Jack. You can call me whatever you want, just avoid profanity. I got plenty of that where I came from," the boy said, crossing his arms.

Artemis would have introduced himself, but Jack raised a hand to silence him.

"Just one more thing. You mess with any of the kids, especially _that_ kid?" Jack indicated a small blonde boy staring at Beckett's creation, "I pound you. His name is Connor. Dad wasn't too nice to him."

Artemis, ever the businessman, squared his shoulders, extended his hand politely and put on a serious expression.

"I am Artemis Fowl. You may address me as you wish. I am not here to harm anybody, quite the contrary, in fact. I simply wish to introduce myself to people who can help my brothers and I in this new environment."

"Wow, you are _very _formal. Don't do that with the other kids, OK? It'll freak 'em out. Anyway, pleased to meet you, Art."

Artemis avoided cringing at the new title he was dubbed and shook Jack's hand.

"Over there is Owen, Zack, and Mike. You can come hang with us for now. The kids will warm up to you after a few hours, so just wait for them to come to you. They don't like being approached," Jack said.

Artemis looked over to the children to see what they were doing. A couple of them were roughhousing and the only other one was talking with Beckett about his artistic abilities. Myles was simply observing and scanning the room for any signs of possible escape. Artemis smirked at him and he blushed slightly, avoiding his eyes.

"Excuse me, but what are the children's backgrounds? I'm not trying to be invasive, but I really want to know how to interact with them. You know, what I can and can't say or do," Artemis rushed, trying to remain friendly.

Jake nodded understandingly and began what he eloquently called the 'lowdown' on all of the kids there.

"OK, the one with red hair and freckles with the tattered shirt? His name is Neil. His mother is in jail and his father was a drug addict. He was neglected. He talks a lot and he's kind of the clown around here."

Just as Jack said that, Neil crashed into a door and laughed it off, running back to another boy with copper curls and honey colored eyes. They wrestled each other for a toy in the middle of the room. Neil won the match and chose to play alone after that.

"The kid Neil just beat is named Keith. He's rambunctious and short-tempered. He's bitten me before. I don't mind it, any kid who was tied up the way he was when the cops found him would bite like that. He's aggressive at first, but after a while, you'll find that he's a funny kid."

Artemis nodded and spoke with Jack some more. He finally got to the most dreaded part of the conversation.

"So, Art, what'd your parents do?" Jack asked, almost afraid of the touchy subject.

"My parents…my father, he is especially suspected of child abuse. I have no intention of badmouthing him here, though. I know that he did nothing to have his children taken from him."

"Oh, OK, sorry for asking about that. Newbies usually hate talking about it. So, anyway, come meet the terror crew. Nah, just kidding," Jack changed the subject quickly.

Owen had the same mannerisms as Artemis did, and for that he was grateful. He looked as though he was very intelligent, which got the children out of trouble often. He had no trouble telling Artemis of what had happened to him.

"Hello, Artemis, I am Owen. I am here because my aunt and uncle passed away after my parents, who died in a car crash when I was young. Because the will of my parents had no statement regarding what would happen after my aunt and uncle passed away, the foster care system took me into their custody. I don't really socialize that much, so please forgive me if I seem indirect."

They did a business shake and then Mike jumped in. His larger frame was initially frightening, and he had the most peculiar complexion; dirty blonde hair with black eyes. He gave Artemis a startle. After he had heard Mike laughing at his own jokes, he decided that Mike must have ADHD or something.

_I would prescribe him with Ritalin. _Artemis thought.

Zack simply said nothing at all and didn't even look at Artemis. He simply tried to wish himself away and crossed his arms, staring at the floor. After Artemis looked to Owen for help, he explained quietly.

"We have no idea what has happened to him. When he came here, he was covered in blood. He hasn't spoken since."

Artemis nodded sadly and gazed upon the children there. He thought to himself, _why on earth would the parents of these children do such things? Are they not aware that they have needs or wants? Well, I am not one of them, and I must blend in somehow in order to avoid suspicion. _

"Look, Artemis, we wanted to give you something. It's your first day here, and we know it's tough, so take this…" Owen gently put a piece of paper in his hand and signaled for him to read it.

_**In the basement at three AM.**_

Artemis nodded quickly and tore it up, putting it in his pocket. The other boys nodded and then carried on casual conversations until Mr. Johnson walked in. The summer sun was burning through the white curtains at that point, and Artemis looked to the green clock on the wall. It bragged that it was noon. He was shocked at how time flew when he was conversing with others.

"OK, kids, time for lunch. What will it be today?"

All of the young children jumped up and started to beg for various lunches. Cries of 'mac and cheese!' or 'sandwiches!' could be heard. Mr. Johnson laughed and 'gave in.'

"OK, kids, what do you say Mr. Johnson gives you a buffet? You can choose what to eat then!"

The collaborative cry of 'YAAAYY!' made the young adults in the room grin at each other.

At the crowded lunch table, the children started to introduce themselves to Artemis. Had he not been so self controlled, he might have coddled them. They were simply loveable from the beginning, and reminded him so of Beckett. A glass of spilled milk silenced all of the children after a few minutes.

Little Connor began to cry.

"Im sorry! Please, don't!" He wailed, raising his small arms to cover his face.

Mr. Johnson comforted him and showed him how to clean up the mess. After all was said and done, the kids finished their lunches. Mr. Johnson cleaned up after them, but not before his daily ritual. As the children called it, _silly Mr. Johnson time._

His eyes had grown wide in mock offense.

"You kids won't clean up? But I worked _so hard _to make you a delicious meal! Aww…OK, you can go outside and play. I'll stay here and **sniff** clean up…"

The kids had cheered and laughed at his performance, then had rushed out of the screen door to the backyard. Artemis decided to go into the study with Mr. Johnson's permission of course, and started to leaf through texts. After an hour or so of reading, his eyes landed on a computer. His pulse went up as he imagined sneaking into the study at night and looking into his case file. Perhaps then, the man who had accused his father of abuse could be traced…

But why not now? He quickly hacked into the computer system and found a name attached to his case file. He knew that the report previously filed against his father was this man's doing. Now all that was left was research on the liar.

But no, not ever. He couldn't stay here for hours without attracting suspicion. So he made a choice to leave the study for now and go to his room. He had work to do, he decided, and it couldn't be done without the items hidden in his suitcase.

With questioning looks from his peers, Artemis rushed to his room, locked the door, and went over to his suitcase to 'unpack' as he had told Mr. Johnson. After a few moments of actually doing said activity, he paused as he reached the secret compartment of his suitcase. Out onto the bed spilled a cell phone, a charger, a wallet, and a GPS. Without second thought, he plugged the cell phone into the charger and dialed Minerva's number.

Upon her picking up, Artemis switched to using French; the other members of this household only knew English.

**A/N: the words that are spoken in another language will be written in Italics. **

"_Hello, my dear." _

"_Oh, Artemis, how nice of you to call. You know how much I love our rendezvous."_

"_Indeed I do. Now, please listen to me. I have called you with a name, Minerva. I have gotten into a dire situation with my two young twin brothers and I need your help in tracing a man who got us into this situation. You see, a Health and Human Services agent came to our home and took my brothers and I away from our parents on the suspicion of child abuse. These allegations are supported by the fact that he used to be a criminal."_

"_Ah, I see, and now you wish to find the man who did this and ruin his credibility. From what I have heard so far, the man could have been an enemy of your father's when he was the head of a crime family." _

"_Exactly, Minerva. Please do this for me and I will be indebted to you. His name is Anton Ventwick."_

"_Of course. I will text you the results after a few days. This could take much time. The name you gave me is common, so I must actually-_

"Minerva? What are you doing, dear? Come outside and speak with your father. He's missed you!"

"_I must go now. Goodbye, Artemis." _

"_Good bye, Minerva, and thank you." _

**Click**

Artemis thought on what to do next. He remembered the note that was passed to him this morning, and decided to follow the directions on it. He knew from the looks on their faces through dinner that it was no joke. Before bed that night, the teens met in the hallway and gave each other a hand sign.

"It means Viva la Resistance," Jack had whispered.

They all crept into bed and waited for the children to fall asleep. The rest of the house creaked with the winds howling. A storm was coming soon, and the children were sure to be woken in a fright. The teen boys had to wait until the coast was clear. Then they would meet in the basement at 3 am.

Artemis was the first one to sneak down into the spider filled cellar. He knew that the other boys, muddled by sleepy confusion, would arrive soon.

_I'm waiting, my friends. _He thought, pacing the moonlight shelter of the basement.


	6. Brotherhood

Brotherhood

**A/N: html code…Artemis was here…adj right shift font codeine THIS IS A TROJAN HORSE VIRUS. **

**Me: ARTEMIS! YOU HACKED INTO MY FILES!**

**Artemis: Hahaha! Let's see you devise your devious plots now! My family is not to be trifled with! The great Artemis Fowl II is victorious once again!**

**Me: OK, asshole, let's see how you like this!**

**I start typing a Fanfiction in which Artemis goes to school, gets knocked out, and wakes up as Orion, who proceeds to destroy Artemis's reputation.**

**Artemis: OH, D'ARVIT NO! **

**Me: Oh, yeah! Take that, Fowl! **

**Artemis: This is horrible! Dear god, you're sick!**

**Me: That's what you get for hacking, snob!**

**Artemis curls up into a ball of traumatized tears. I take pity on him and delete the fic.**

**Artemis: Sniffle**

**Me: I'm top bitch around here!**

**Artemis: Cough I'll kill you slowly Cough**

**I start to re-type the fic**

**Artemis: I-I mean, where did that come from? I have quite the cough, you see!**

**I delete the fic again. Beckett comes in with Myles, giggling like a madman. **

**Beckett: Arty looks traumatized! I'll give him a lollypop!**

**Me: Why don't we give him FOUR lollipops?**

**Artemis proceeds to vomit.**

**END**

Artemis sat down in the corner of the cellar, his thin back pressed to the brick wall. It cooled him down on that hot, stormy August night. He waited patiently for the other four teens to arrive. One by one, they did, and they all bid him come to the table in the other corner of the cellar. One of them had brought a lighter and candles. He quickly lit them and looked around to make sure that they were not to be disturbed.

Jack started the meeting.

"OK, my brothers, let's establish the rules with Art. If you would, Owen."

Owen stood up and sat next to Artemis.

"OK, so what happens during these meetings is never to leave the meeting. We cannot have the adults running this institution know of our practices. On threat of expulsion, we have remained 'good boys' for Mrs. Johnson. Mr. Johnson poses no immediate threat to any of us, so we trust him, but not with this."

"Very well, please continue," Artemis said after a long pause.

When the silence continued, Artemis grew worried. Perhaps this was a trap? What if they had brought him here on the pretense of a meeting only to beat or torture him?

Orion decided to cheerfully chip in. Artemis would have knocked him dead if he were tangible. But Orion was his private demon; nobody could save him from the thing that his mind had created so long ago…

_Oh, has the brute Fowl found a group to join? How wonderful! Let us speak of our plans with them! Perhaps they are apt to help us in this time of need! Be of good cheer, my fellow! When you get knocked out next, I shall speak to them in a manner most noble. Then they will accept us into their secret society!_

_**Orion, this does not, and never will, concern you. Now, if you will, be silent, for I must focus on the meeting at hand. How are the fours doing?**_

_Oh, quite well, brute, quite well indeed! For, one of them has spoken to me!_

_**And what, pray, has he told you?**_

_He's waiting for you, Arty. We all are._

Artemis shuddered noticeably, and every boy there stared at his shaking shoulders.

"God, what did they do to you?" Mike asked.

"I am assuming you mean my parents, and neither of them has done anything. Now, if you will, what is the next thing we are to discuss?" Artemis curtly responded.

"OK, the thing is, we consider ourselves family. We want you to join us, but first you must prove that you are here to help us. The way we do this is to have you help us with our next plan. As you have already seen, Mrs. Johnson is, to put it eloquently, a bitch. She has tortured multiple children here because of minor infractions, some of which are not immoral by any means!"

Owen was doing most of the talking while the other boys were dragging folders and tools to the table. It was very much like being in a beehive, the queen bee talking to him with the others swarming around at her will. It was all disorienting at this early hour, but Artemis was determined to join this brotherhood if it meant getting Beckett and Myles out of here.

"OK, so far, we have taken all of the booze out of the house, smashed the bottles against the garage door of our neighbors, and stolen some of Mrs. Johnson's money. We use the money to supply new clothing and toiletries to the kids here. You see, every weekend, one of us is sent out to grocery shop for the rest of the family. We use the money she gives us to buy groceries, and the money we stole to get needs that she's not supplying for us, like clothes."

"So, as I am to understand it, you are getting revenge on the abuser while providing basic needs for the children here? Why not attempt to escape?" Artemis asked politely.

"Well, the truth is, we've tried at least ten times. Every time, we get caught. They have an electronic burglary system here. If a window is opened, a door is cracked slightly, or if something hits our windows, the alarm goes off, and the consequences are dire. She's ruthless, trust me on that," Mike said, fumbling with the screwdriver in his hand.

"What do you intend to do with the tools you have just gotten?"

Jack's expression turned from solemn to devious.

"Elementary, my dear Art."

"How extraordinarily cliché."

"Thanks! Anyway, we're going to deactivate the security system. We know where the power switches are in the basement, and we can do this without getting electrocuted. All we need is a genius like you to take out the parts that make the thing tick. We've never had somebody of your IQ here before, and now that it's happened, we can use that IQ. It' s like you're a godsend!"

Jack's entire face had been lifted to a 200-watt smile. Artemis chuckled to himself and nodded, agreeing to the plan over a handshake.

"You are quite the shrewd businessmen, my friends. I only require half an hour to do this. If you don't mind, I would like something in exchange for my work," Artemis said.

"Depends on what you're asking us for," Mike jumped.

"I only require that at some point tomorrow, you distract Mr. Johnson and allow me access to his computer. From there, I can contact my parents, especially my father, without being traced as I could on a cell phone."

Owen looked at Artemis with suspicion.

"Why do you want to contact those who harmed you?"

"Because they didn't do any harm! It is a complicated story that I will not indulge you in, particularly because it is no business of yours! Now, if you wish to have your security system disarmed, I suggest you comply!"

Jack raised a silencing hand to the suddenly squabbling group.

"That's enough! Artemis isn't the wrong one here if he wants to contact his parents! Maybe somehow the system screwed up this time and he doesn't belong here! I don't know for sure, but it's a good thing he's even considering helping us! So, my brothers, we will execute a plan of distraction tomorrow for Artemis after he disarms the alarm. Got it?"

All of the other swarming brothers stopped their movements and let their shoulders relax. They all nodded and murmured amongst themselves. They all came to an agreement and led Artemis up to the main entrance. There, the menacing glow of a burglar alarm alerted anybody who was next to it of the fact that it was 'ready.'

Artemis took the tools he needed and started his half-hour job of disassembly, removal of certain wires, and fixing the alarm. It was now silent, and the alarm would not sound if anybody opened the door. After testing it twice, the other brothers were satisfied and led him back down to the basement.

"That was genius, Artemis! Good job! Now, we can discuss how we will help you!" Jack congratulated him.

"OK, let's hear the plan of action," Artemis said.

Owen took out a sheet of paper and a pen, drew a diagram of the house, and started to talk.

"OK, Mr. Johnson usually works at home on his computer. However, when one of the children becomes injured or upset, he leaves his study to take care of the problem. Normally, he is back within ten minutes, but we have had incidents where somebody is taken to the doctor and he is gone for an hour or two. I have already agreed to be our 'victim' who needs medical care. I have a condition, you see, where I spontaneously faint for no reason. When this happens, Mr. Johnson takes me to the doctor, as instructed in my file," Owen began.

Artemis nodded, liking the plan so far, but he wanted to hear more, like what would happen after that.

"When Mr. Johnson takes me to the doctor, they keep me there with him for two hours for tests on my blood and urine. This means that you can contact your parents and not get into trouble. I advise that you make absolutely sure that nobody can trace you! The computer in this house has a program that can and will trace activity online. In case you haven't guessed yet, which I highly doubt, some of the people here have attempted to do what you are doing. They were caught and sent to another foster home."

After all of the agreements and handshakes were over, Artemis walked on tired legs back up to his room, ready to fall asleep with Myles and Beckett. In the back of his head, a snickering was heard. He tried to ignore it, but as he crawled under the hot sheets, felt his younger brothers cling to him, and tried to sleep, it got louder.

_I am watching you. Don't fail them tomorrow. Sleep well tonight, Brute. The fours are waiting._


	7. Without a Trace

Without a Trace

**A/N: hello, all! I'm here with Myles and Beckett, who want to talk about their new home!**

**Beckett: I don't like it here.**

**Myles: Artemis is in the next room destroying your firewall.**

**Me: …**

**OK, end of a really awful skit! I don't have any more jokes for now! Go figure! Dogs leap over the red moonlight shadows of my past I can't control what I'm a Yankee Doodle dandy!**

**In the other room, our favorite criminal genius is viewing an MRI of mine. He is observing the progressive brain damage that he has caused with unknown technology.**

**Artemis: That's right, lass, your nervous system is mine…Hahahaha!**

**END**

In the heat of the summer morning, Beckett and Myles played hide-and-seek outside with the other foster children. The young adults had their plan in head, and were quick to execute it. A loud thud was heard in the kitchen, and Mr. Johnson, who was tickling Myles pink, jumped to the task of finding out who had collapsed.

In the kitchen, Owen was sprawled on the floor and the phone was in his hand. He was unmoving, and didn't respond to Mr. Johnson at all.

"Wake up, son! Please, are you OK? Oh, god, we're gonna have to get you to the doctor right away! Not again! OK, calm down…"

Artemis, unbeknownst to Mr. Johnson, was right in the playroom, listening to the entire monologue. He found himself shaking with silent laughter and had to take deep breaths to calm himself. He never dreamed that Owen, the boy genius, could have talent in acting. Artemis had taken years to perfect his skills, but Owen was a natural, something that Artemis would never admit to being jealous of.

Mr. Johnson ran into the playroom to see Artemis. Owen was in his arms, and he was clearly exerting great effort into supporting the young adult. He urgently nodded to Artemis to get up.

"You've gotta open the front door, lead us to the car, and open the passenger side for me! I want you and the other teenagers to look after the kids. Please don't call Mrs. Johnson about this; normally, the doctors take care of it in a couple of hours," Mr. Johnson rushed his speech.

Artemis nodded solemnly and proceeded to obey the orders. Mr. Johnson urgently waved Artemis back into the house right before backing out and driving to the doctor's office quickly. Artemis smirked to himself and laughed a bit before running indoors to the vital connection he had left in the house: Mr. Johnson's computer.

IN all of its technological glory, the computer glowed in the sunlight streaming through the blinds. The shadows looked unusually like prison bars, which Artemis had to shake off before proceeding to the next step in his plan. Jake walked in to make sure that Artemis had gotten to execute his plan, and grinned from ear to ear when he saw that his wishes were satisfied.

"Isn't Owen just awesome? I remember one time when he got me out of a whole load of shit. I broke a window in the kitchen when I punched it, and Owen convinced them that I had slipped and put my hand through it. They bought the story, and Mrs. Johnson didn't beat me!"

As Jack ranted about how awesome Owen was, Artemis had put his mind in a meditative state, focusing on disarming the computer program that traced Internet activities. After fifteen minutes, not only was the program disabled, but also it _appeared_ to be working. When Mr. Johnson next logged in, the computer would tell him that nothing had even occurred on the Internet during his absence.

However, Artemis could not get the knot out of his stomach. He knew that father would respond to his message _if he was still home. _Artemis hated the very idea, but he knew it was entirely realistic; why wouldn't Mr. Fowl have been arrested already? He had done so much…but now was not the time for sentimental thoughts. He had to focus on one thing: getting his father to communicate with him, if only once in all of this mess.

He logged into the Russian communications center of criminal activity. His father had built three firewalls, several anti spy-ware programs that were unbreakable, even to Artemis II, and a cache clearing program that deleted any and all activity on the web site. Only exclusive Mafia members knew of this page, and it was here that father communicated with his most notorious traders.

Artemis logged on in desperation, using his own name that his father had assigned him the day he had his first five am session in the study. He recalled that moment now, and felt a sense of pride despite what getting that name meant for his criminal life.

"_Guess what, son? You will now be known by my associates as…SimetraII." _

_Artemis Senior had looked to his son with a sly grin. Arty had smiled slightly and immediately replaced that hint of emotion with a serious expression. _

"_I am glad to accept the title, father. I suppose that now, I will carry on your feats?" _

"_Indeed, my genius. You'll make me proud. Now, let' s talk to this man from Tokyo who just logged in."_

Artemis's focus whooshed back from the flashback to modern day Ireland. He had a task to do, and he had to do it now or never. On the black screen with white letters, Artemis II started to type.

**SimetraII: Are you on? **

**SimetraI: Arty?**

His heart leaped in his chest, and a sigh of relief could be heard by the lookouts outside of the door. One of them decided to entertain the other with a sick joke.

"Think he's finally gotten an orgasm?"

They both laughed loudly.

But in the study, a conversation that had no folly was taking place. Beads of sweat rolled down Arty's pale face; this sweat came from no summer heat. His heart pounded in his ribcage, and his spidery hands flew over the keyboard like lightening.

**SimetraII: Father, please, tell me where you are!**

**SimetraI: I am at home right now. How on earth did you find a computer? **

**SimetraII: I have my ways. I am perfect, remember? I make no mistakes. Do I make myself clear?**

**SimetraI: I am your father, how about a little respect?**

**SimetraII: Apologies, father. I am simply in a dire situation.**

**SimetraI: We all are, son. Now, what is it you need? Take your time; nobody can catch us here.**

**SimetraII: Father, Mr. Johnson uses this computer; he is the owner. I have disabled any and all internet activity tracing programs on this computer so that I could talk to you. A diversion was created so that Mr. Johnson could leave and I could contact you. Time is not short, yet it isn't unlimited. I must be brief.  
**

**SimetraI: Very well, son, tell me what you need.**

**SimetraII: Beckett was physically abused here. He has a bruise on his face to prove it. I am going to come home soon. I have a plan to catch the rat that did this to you. We will have justice; we are Fowls. **

**SimetraI: Those bastards will hear from me about that when you are out of that house. I'll make sure that whoever did this to my son is jailed for abuse. Now, about the accusations…how did you find out about who…?**

**SimetraII: Minerva is doing research. I was able to call her with the cell phone I hid in my suitcase before coming here. She will text me the results, piece by piece, within three days time. I am coming home, even if it is the last thing I do. You won' t lose your sons, and I will not lose my father. **

**SimetraI: Thank you, Arty. You were always brilliant; I knew that you could find a way out of this! **

**SimetraII: Car approaching. Mr. Johnson home. Must log off!**

**SimetraI: Goodbye, son. I love you.**

**SimetraII signal absent.**

**SimetraI signal absent. **

Mr. Johnson walked into the kitchen with a relived look on his face, sweating from the August sun and emotional stress. A perfectly healthy looking Owen followed him into the kitchen. After a lecture about 'telling me when you feel faint, Owen' Mr. Johnson began to put his car keys away. During this short amount of time, Artemis bolted out of the study on wings of speed, ran outside, and smacked into the two lookouts who had ran off just seconds before. He panted, extended his sweaty hand, and shook both of theirs.

"Thank you, friends. I am indebted to you!"

"Ah, indeed, intellectual Artemis Fowl! We shall speak stiffly and formally!" Interjected Mike.

"Y-You are positively ridiculous when you attempt to sound even close to what I speak like!"

"Hahaha! Dude, you are too stiff! Maybe that suit you wore the first day bonded with your skin!"

"Is Beckett eating dirt?"

Jack and Mike nodded simultaneously, Zack choked on silent laughter, and Owen joined them shortly. Artemis strode over to Beckett's side and saw Myles mimic his movements. He sternly sat Beckett on his lap and lectured him on the multiple bacterium and insects that maintained homeostasis by thriving in the dirt that he had so readily devoured. Beckett pouted adorably, and Artemis forgave him within seconds.

"Your puppy dog eyes never cease to amuse me, little Beckett."

"Artemis simple-toon likes dirt, too?"

"No, Beckett, I would rather not devour something that can cause vomiting and diarrhea!"

"OK!" Beckett giggled, cramming grass into his mouth next.

After putting away his keys and not suspecting a thing, Mr. Johnson went back to roughhousing with the kids outside. Artemis knew that he would be safe playing with the kids until five. At that time, Mr. Johnson had declared, Mrs. Johnson would return and expect dinner to be on the table. Artemis had never been a cook himself, but he offered to do the dishes kindly after Mr. Johnson had asked for help.

He knew that that evening wouldn't be eventful, but he had a feeling that he should be on guard at all times. Nobody needed to know of his little computer hacking activity this afternoon. After a pasta dinner, which all of the kids consumed in silence because of Mrs. Johnson's raging headache, the children crept back up to their rooms until lights-out at nine.

Artemis tucked both of the twins in, and smiled upon Myles, who was looking at a grinning Beckett reproachfully.

"I simply cannot believe that you ate processed garbage this morning followed by an afternoon of mud and grass! What will become of you, my foolish Beckett?"

"I'll be stronger than you cuz I have bugs and bacteria in me!"

"OK, you two, let us hear a story, now!"

The twins stopped kicking around under the sheets and stared at Artemis as he began to fabricate another tale.

"Once, there were two little twins named Beckett and Myles. They were always at odds until one day, a beautiful orb weaver named Angeline wove a web of charms to kindle their relationship…"

Before too long, the twins had fallen asleep and dreamt of mummy's cooking. They were peaceful to gaze upon, and Artemis found himself full of paternal pride at having such well-behaved brothers.

"You will make me proud, brothers," He murmured as he ran his hands over their curls.

Artemis almost crept into bed when a light from his suitcase caught his eye. He knew, from the sound of vibrating, that Minerva had sent a series of texts. Simply by counting the amount of times the light flashed, at least twenty of the texts were sent so far.

_You are rather quick in your research, my dear. _Artemis thought as he crossed the room.

He opened the cell phone and looked at the first message. It was painful to read at first because of the first words it said in perfect French.

_The bastard is my grandfather! _


	8. The Who and Why

The Who and Why

**A/N: OK, here in first period Oceanography on a net book! Yaw! Word programs suck because when you try to spell YAY, they give you Yaw! So, how's it going? BAD? Why? Oh, yeah, it's a Monday…but ya know, It's really OK, because it's only a four day week! That means more writing on my three day weekend! OK, on with the next angst filled chapter of my story!**

**Beckett clings to Myles**

**Beckett: Kristen's scary when she grins. It's like chucky the doll!**

**Me: Hahahaha! I love early morning madness, especially because of the best part of the freakin' year! Daylight Savings time! **

**My speakers blare with the song, AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!**

**Me: Oh, look, Arty created a program that AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! Interrupts my writing with AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! The song!**

**Artemis is in the other room, laughing his ass off again. **

**Arty: You may spell my name incorrectly, but you will face the consequences of your folly soon! This is only step on in my plot to destroy your computer system!**

**Beckett tugs at my sleeve.**

**Beckett: Artemis has lost his mind, hasn't he?**

**Myles: I believe that the statement you just made is the first coherent one you have made all day. I owe you a treat.**

**Beckett: Yay, worms!**

**Myles face palms. I laugh. A random volley ball flies over my head and hits an approaching Arty, knocking him out. Right before he faints and becomes Orion, he mumbles something softly.**

**Arty: That's not how you spell it, you imbecile…**

***Thud***

**Me: XD I love you, Arty! Next time, Orion and his devious fours will show up! But not in this chapter! Jus you wait, my reading minions! Hahahaha…OK, I'll stop now. **

**OK, on with the chappie!**

A loud scream came from down the stairs. Artemis looked to the alarm clock on the table next to his bed and saw the red numbers glowing out that it was 10 PM.

"Those bastards! I'll kill them! Where's the booze?"

Mrs. Johnson screamed like a banshee, hurling a plate against the kitchen wall. The expected reactions of the children upstairs commenced. Connor flashed back to his home and started to wail. Beckett woke up and began to cry, and Myles held him, shaking in fear. The teens began to go comfort the younger children and tried to assuage their fears. Mr. Johnson ran downstairs and slammed the door leading to the staircase; he didn't allow his wife near the children at night when she wanted to drink.

"I already told you, honey, I was the one who threw the beer out! You've had too much! The doctors told you that it was poison to your liver! Stop, put that down!"

"Why don't you make me, bastard?"

"OK!"

*CRASH* Beckett cringed at the large vase hurled past Mr. Johnson's head.

"You and these kids…you can rot in Hell! I'm leaving tonight!"

"Good, I won't' have you hurting them anymore! They're abused, Charlotte! They need love, not beatings! Now get out of here! Let them sleep for once, you crazy bitch!"

"You never loved me!"

A loud slam of the front door that rattled the house on it's foundation made every child there whimper and curl up in their beds. Beckett sniffled and sighed in relief; the incident was over. Artemis breathed slowly and expected the knock on his door. He opened it wearily and saw, to his relief, Jack.

"How're the twins holding up? They OK?"

"Yes, my friend, thank you for your concerns. I only want to ask you if this episode occurs often."

"Well, this is the first time she actually _left _the premises. Other than that, she usually storms into the playroom, tears it up, and then goes to bed. Mr. Johnson always keeps her away from the kids when she gets this bad. Problem is, there were many nights when he left without thinking. We suffered for it."

Artemis would have questioned the statement had Jack not exposed a scarred arm. A jagged dark line ran from his shoulder to his elbow.

"This here hurt like a sonofabitch. She tried to get at little Keith and I blocked the knife. I had to call the cops. She actually convinced them that I had caused her to feel threatened and defend herself. She said that I attempted rape. They bought it, naturally. She can fake a fountain of tears any day."

"This place is truly dangerous for all of you, friend. I promise you this; I will have all of you out of this environment. I have already started a plan to leave on my own, but now I see that I have a bigger job at hand. I will need to take photographs of any and all injuries that have occurred by her hand in order to prove her abuse to the authorities," Artemis said, running his hand through his raven locks.

Jack nodded solemnly.

"You're a genius, Art, there's no doubt in my mind about that. But be careful. My brothers and I will help you in this task, but just be careful and don't mess up. You are really our last hope."

Artemis Fowl II extended his hand, squared his shoulders, and pierced Jack's emerald eyes with glacier blue orbs.

"I swear to it, friend."

They shook like business partners and departed for the night. Artemis had his work cut out for him, and he knew it. The first manner of business now, however, was to contact Minerva about her recent discovery. If she was in as much distress as he thought she was, then this phone call had to be made where nobody could hear it. He knew the perfect place to do so, and chose to go to the cellar after all had fallen asleep, the ruined shards of rage swept into the trashcan.

At three AM, Artemis ran down to the Cellar on silent feet. He curled up in the corner and dialed Minerva's number. A perfectly alert and enraged girl answered in perfect French.

"_Do you know what time it is?"_

"_Apologies, my dear, but we really must discuss this text you sent me. I understand that your grandfather was the one who did this to Father?"_

"_I already told you that, dolt!"_

"_I insist that you use respectful language when you converse with me!"_

"_Fine, Artemis Fowl the Second!"_

"_Just tell me what else you found. I wish to speak about it quickly; I have more work to do than initially planned. Tell me about your grandfather and what connection he had to Father." _

"_Very well, Artemis. The name that you got was an alias used by my grandfather; he was a member of the French rebel group that despises our government. They all had relations with your father, whether it was for illegal trade or overthrowing our government. When one of my grandfather's men was killed by your father's men over a drug dispute, the French rebel group withdrew suddenly on every bond they had with your father. This started a war between the two crime families," Minerva rushed._

"_Ok, slow down for a moment. You said that there was a war going on? What does this have to do with the Fowls personally? For one who tears children away from the father truly has a personal issue with the man himself, not the crime wars." _

"_I was getting to that! I have to hurry; my father has been on my case all day. He's suspicious, Artemis! You see what you drag me into? This is the last time I hold my neck out for you!" _

"_Very well, Minerva, but I insist that you give me what information you have now! The quicker you are to do so, the less painful this will be for both of us!"_

"_Alright, just listen! One of the men was close to your father. He had wanted to join the Fowl empire for years, and saw the opportunity when the Fowls connected their criminal trades with the French rebel group. After your father had promised him a position in his empire, the war started and the deal was cut off. Because so many of my grandfather's men died, and he himself wanted to join the Fowl empire before the war, he became vengeful. Your father was foolish enough to trust my grandfather with the information about his family."_

"_Ah, I understand. Vengeance is what caused this. Now that I know what your grandfather's been up to, I can easily destroy his credibility. All I need is to do more research, gather various pieces of evidence on his criminal history, and show it to the social workers. Thank you for all of your help, Minerva."_

"_Good bye, Artemis. Next time you call me, please make it a rendezvous. I actually prefer the casual conversations. By the way, your French pronunciation is horrendous."_

"_Thank you, dear; I always did enjoy your wit." _

***click***

The call was disconnected and Artemis took the time to read the texts, which did say what Minerva had told him over the phone. For now, All Artemis could do was go back to bed with his brothers. He had a long week ahead of him, and he knew that he needed to prepare himself with rest.


	9. A Plan Most Devious

A Plan Most Devious

**A/N: I am in my classroom now, typing away…hehehe. I'm sneaky.**

**Orion bounces into the room and sits next to me. My teacher's jaw drops and she asks me who the Hell this random kid is.**

**Orion: Hello, all! I bring you news of great cheer! Kristen is typing a new chapter to her epic tale of arrogant Artemis's fight against a corrupted Irish Foster Care system! **

**Teacher: OK, Kristen, if you can't keep your friend under control, then why don't you just go to the principal's office?**

**Me: It's not my fault! He's totally whacko!**

**Teacher: GET OUT NOW!**

**Me: Fine, God!**

**Orion grabs my hand and zealously runs out of the classroom with me to the principal's office. **

**Orion: Oh, look there on the horizon, maiden! A four comes our way! **

**Me: OH, cool!**

**The four bounces towards us and stops right next to me. **

**Four: Jevah hream du!**

**Me: O…K…**

**Orion: It likes you! :D**

**The four licks my arm.**

**I jump away. Orion laughs his ass off. Inside of his head, Artemis is screaming in violent protest.**

**Arty**_**: I know you're spelling my name like that again! Oh, you are unconscious…serves you right, I say! Orion, release me this instant! How did you get a four into the plane of existence? Is it not impossible for a figment of the mind to simply materialize in the real world?**_

**Orion: Ah, you misunderstand, my brute, the maiden controls our fates! It seems that she has taken a liking to me and my charm! I don't believe that you will leave your prison soon!**

**Arty growls from his throat in rage. Orion grins stupidly. In the meantime, the four sniffs me. I reach up and pet it.**

**Four: Jevahh!**

**Me: OK, that's enough of that! If I actually owned Arty-**

**Artemis: **_**Go to Hell, lass!**_

**Me: If I actually owned Artemis Fowl, then I would sooo torture him!**

**In the study of Orion's mind, Artemis rips at his hair and wails in defeat. Orion laughs. I play fetch with the four. The principal takes one look at me, shakes her head, and walks past me muttering about kids these days. **

**END!**

All was silent the next morning. The children of the house had been scared into silence, and Mr. Johnson would have to explain the situation to them that morning over breakfast. For the children who bothered to take food, there was only a small amount of cereal in their bowls. None of them spoke as Mr. Johnson walked in, looking utterly at a loss.

"Kids, I need you to listen to me. I think that…She's gone too far this time. None of you can speak to her anymore. She's just not stable, and I know that you kids trust me anyway. So just come to me with whatever problems you have from now on. I won't tell you who I know did this, but taking her booze was the best thing you could have done. Thank you."

Mr. Johnson then left the room, a miserable table of pale, sleep deprived children flicked their eyes to the clock on the wall. The time was nine am, and the smaller children wanted more than anything to get outside and play. Last night would surely be forgotten then. Artemis understood this perfectly, and went outside with the kids.

As the teenage rebel group watched over the younger children playing hide and seek, Artemis noticed the urgent waving from Jack to join their tightly knit circle. He looked around for signs of suspicion for Mr. Johnson and saw that he was reading a newspaper article.

As Artemis approached the group of kids, he noticed that one of them had a piece of paper in his hand. He inconspicuously handed Artemis the piece of paper. Before he had opened it, he knew what it would say in Jack's rough script:

_**In the basement at 3 am.**_

Artemis immediately pocketed it and nodded. Jack smiled wanly and gazed out at the children, who were now warming up to each other once more and playing.

"This right here is what they should be doing, Art. Just being kids."

"Agreed, friend. Freedom is necessary at this point. I will help you."

"Yeah, that's what we will talk about later. Now, let's just go play with the kids. They need it after what happened last night," Owen interjected.

Mike, in agreement, chased after Myles. Artemis made it his duty to play in the sandbox with Beckett. Owen took it upon himself to play with Connor. Zack silently streaked after Keith, who was laughing manically about how Zack was a slowpoke.

The day was spent quickly, to Artemis's surprise. He couldn't figure out what was so nerve racking about the clock ticking away at the dinner table, or why the summer air was so suffocating at bedtime when he read to the twins. He understood why, when his cell phone alarm went off at 3 am. He knew that he had to tell them about his plan, and he knew that they would have to, yet again, deceive the kind Mr. Johnson. Guilt gnawed at his stomach as Orion whispered to him as he crept down the icy cellar stairs.

_Oh, brute, we're getting upset now. Worry not, your plans never fail. They only make the guilt of lying worse. Let's see what the great and powerful immortal does now! Oh, I see you're pacing! Might I recommend mint? It soothes tense muscles. _

As Artemis attempted to block out Orion's chattering, he saw from the top of the stairs a glowing flashlight. Jack crept down silently, nodding to the figures behind him.

"OK, guys, coast is clear. Let's get this started," Jack instructed Zack, Mike, and Owen.

They crept down until they saw Artemis pacing and sweating.

"Dude, are you sick? You don't look so hot," Mike said, approaching Artemis.

"I am fine, friend. ACTUALLY!" Artemis corrected himself as Orion laughed heartily.

_Oh, foolish brute, you are counting your words again! How very funny, fool._

Four. Artemis shuddered at his nemesis's suave voice. He looked to the circle of boys and nodded for them to sit with him at the table. The flashlight illuminated their worried faces and created an unnatural lighting in the room. Artemis cleared his throat and began.

"I believe that you are all thinking what I am. I want to get these children out of the house that they are clearly not safe in. I also want to tell you about the plan that I have devised. Mike, if you would please sit still and listen…"

Mike stopped his rocking and focused on Artemis. He thought to himself, for one moment, about how talking to Mike was like speaking to Beckett about logarithms. It was simply too much information to take in one sitting for the little tyke, and eventually, Artemis had given up hope. He smirked and thought of his little twin brothers. As he did this, the others at the table grew tense; he had not spoken for a while now.

"OK, seriously, you're freaking me out, just tell us the plan!"

"Oh, my apologies, friend, I was merely…"

_Thinking of saving your brothers from this hellhole._

"So, um, anyway…" a most unusual hesitation from Artemis Fowl II.

"I wanted to tell you all that I need more time on the computer in Mr. Johnson's study. I will have a fake fight with one of you and insist that Owen be taken to a doctor. After that, I can go into the study and do the research that I must do in order to get out of here."

Jack nodded and then narrowed his eyes. Artemis knew what was coming next.

"And what about the kids? They're not safe here! What do we do to get Mrs. Johnson arrested?"

"I was getting to that part, Jake. I wanted to tell you that I need a camera in order to take pictures of injuries inflicted by her. As you know, the first person I will need to do this with is you, Jack. My cell phone won't be able to take high quality pictures, so I will need to either take Mr. Johnson's or buy one with the 'borrowed' money from Mrs. Johnson. I trust that you have not spent it all?"

"No, we didn't. What kind of Camera do you want to buy?"

"A simple disposable will do. We can develop the photographs in the dark bathroom down here," Owen explained.

"Indeed, Owen, that is what we shall do. Now, let us purchase the camera before dawn. We can fake the fight when everybody is up tomorrow. I trust that this plan will not fail," Artemis said.

And with that, the meeting was over. The plan of action was going to take place right now. First, Jack went into his closet, opened the drawers, and took twenty dollars from the wads he had taped to the top of the drawer. Nobody had discovered his secret of hiding it, and he had used it in his previous home as well.

After that, he went back down to the group of teens by the front door and walked out with them. The alarm was disabled, thanks to Artemis, and they were able to stride to the store around the corner. The glow of the store windows called out to them like a lighthouse. They all walked into the store from the sea of summer grass and quickly found a disposable camera for twelve dollars.

One of the people who ran the store looked at the boys suspiciously; he had never seen a group of kids out this early in the morning. When he had asked, they simply shrugged. Owen invented a tale about how they were new here, and they were not used to the time change. After that, there were no more questions asked.

Upon their arrival back home, the boys looked to the rising sun and sighed in relief; Mrs. Johnson's car was nowhere to be found. They all agreed that Artemis should keep the camera and take pictures tomorrow when Mr. Johnson was cooking dinner. This plan would work, and they all knew it. Before they got up the stairs, a loud wail was heard from Connors room. They all froze in terror and heard the door at the end of the hallway open.

"Art, run like hell!" Jack hissed. Artemis took no time in dashing to his room and stuffing the camera into his suitcase.

Mr. Johnson walked past the group of teens in the hallway and went into Connor's room, ready to comfort him in his night terrors. In the five minutes it took for Connor to stop crying, the teens had snuck past the open door to his room and crept back in to their own. Tomorrow was a big day, and they needed to play their roles well.


	10. FIGHT! For Freedom

Fight! For Freedom

A/N: Hello, my readers! So, I wanted to let you know several things. First of all, I am going to write five more chapters to this fan fiction. I have it all planned out in my journal. Second of all, I will be writing a new fanfiction right after this one. It will be rated M, so if you're not comfortable with themes like Lemon or lovers, don't read it! So, anyway…on with the next chapter.

**Four: Jeevah jubecka!**

**Me: 8 O….**

**Orion: Write away, fair maiden!**

**Me: Yeah, can the four stop chewing on my hair now?**

**Orion: Come here, boy!**

**The four bounces back to Orion and licks him as he pets it. **

**Me: WOW, the four needs to go…Oh, BUTLER!**

**Butler crashes into my room right on cue and whips out a HUGE TRANQUILIZER GUN**

**Orion: Oh, this isn't good, is it?**

**Butler: Goodnight, Orion.**

**Orion is unconscious before he hits the floor. I grin as the four disappears. **

**Me: OK that's better! On with the chappie!**

In the morning, the children had forgotten all about the episode that occurred only two nights before. This was usually the case, as Jack pointed out to Artemis over breakfast. As the sun heated the earth and dried the morning dew, jubilant cries of children tackling each other on the front lawn could be heard by next door neighbors. Mr. Johnson had started to relax and was even trying to play with some of the children.

Myles and Beckett decided to start playing with Keith and Neil that day. All they wanted to do was roughhouse. Beckett did not object and joined right in the wrestling match. Keith always won, but after two tries, Beckett had him pinned down in the sandbox. Myles simply observed, nose upturned until Beckett did something extraordinary.

Beckett pulled Myles down into the sandbox with him and started to wrestle before Myles knew what hit him. He cried out at first but then realized how fun it was to be so rough. He won the match with Beckett but lost to Neil. Keith got tired of wrestling before Myles could challenge him and started a game of tag. The kids had a blast and soon, Connor joined in. Mr. Johnson decided to be 'it' for one round, which pleased the quiet group of teens.

Jack, Owen, Zack, and Artemis crept into the kitchen to talk about phase one of their daylong plan.

Owen turned to Artemis and began to speak softly.

"OK, Artemis, we have something to tell you. We don't want you to get into trouble with Mr. Johnson by getting into a fight your first week here. So, what I'm going to do is fight with Jack. This way, there is a legitimate reason for a doctor's visit. I have the unconsciousness problem, remember?"

Artemis nodded thoughtfully. The more time that passed, the more he reasoned that Owen had thought this out more than he had last night. He reached out and patted Owen on the shoulder.

"Friend, I give you my thanks for taking the beating that is about to commence. Jack, please don't rough him up to the point beyond recodnition. I want him to survive this," Artemis pleaded.

"Don't worry about it, Art. We know what we're doing. No hard feelings, right Owen?"

Owen was pale, but he knew that this had to be done for the sake of his brothers and the younger children. He nodded and shook hands with Jack and Artemis before he decided to leave.

So, without further hesitation, Artemis left the kitchen with Zack so that the fake fight could start. They had no idea what they were in for.

They were glad that they didn't stay, because the screaming that came from the house could be heard by the whole neighborhood.

"YOU BASTARD, JACK! TAKE THAT BACK!"

"WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME, YOU DOUCHE-BAG?"

"MY FATHER DIDN'T TEACH ME MUCH, BUT HE TAUGHT ME HOW TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF IGNORANT BOYS LIKE YOU!"

"WELL, THEN, BRING IT ON, PUSSY!"

A series of punches and kicks were heard between the two boys. This caught Mr. Johnson's attention. He ran towards the house just as a crash was heard. He turned to Artemis and Zack as if to ask what was going on. Artemis shrugged casually and Zack simply stared at the door to the house.

"OK, then, neither of you know? I'll go check it out. Watch the kids. This may end in a doctor's visit," Mr. Johnson said, bustling past them.

IN the kitchen, Mr. Johnson just caught sight of something he had never expected. Jack had Owen by the hair and was screaming insults in his face. Owen was trying to pry Jack's hands from his hair to no avail.

"What the Hell?" Mr. Johnson roared, running towards the couple.

Mr. Johnson would have successfully ended the fistfight there, but then, something froze him in his tracks; as he approached them, Jack grabbed a dish and shattered it over Owens head. Owen was unconscious before he hit the floor. Jack cracked his knuckles and smirked down at his opponent.

"My GOD, Jack! I thought you were a good kid! Why did you do this?" Mr. Johnson cried out, tending to Owen.

Jack brushed past Mr. Johnson, proud as a peacock.

"It was his fault, the dick," he smirked.

"When I get home, you are not to leave your room until dinner! And no phone calls to your girlfriend this week! We're gonna have a talk when I get back…God, you messed him up!"

After Mr. Johnson had left, Jack went out to see Artemis and Zack. They stared at him with owl eyes.

"What on earth did you do to him, Jack?" Artemis asked incredulously.

"Elementary, my dear Art. I beat the shit outta him. We will have to compensate for that later. I'm gonna be screwed for a week or so, but Mr. Johnson isn't one to hold a grudge. It'll be over after he talks to me tonight," Jack explained.

Artemis shook his hand and thanked him before rushing to the study to do two hours of research. He had a man to track. The man who destroyed his family would not get away with it as long as Artemis Fowl II had something to say about it.

He logged onto the computer and created a binder of printed news articles about the criminal activities of Minerva's grandfather. After the news articles, Artemis tracked the criminal's computer, hacked into the files, and printed pages and pages of conspicuous internet history. After that, he was satisfied. He would have logged off except for one more thing he felt he had to do. He logged onto the hidden chat room. Using the name of the fowls, he sent out a white message in the black abyss of the page.

**SimetraII: Father?**

No reply. Artemis sighed in dismay, massaged his exhausted eyes, and swiftly made work of binding the pages together with staples, piece by piece. He logged off of the computer and made sure that everything was in place before he heard a garage door. Mr. Johnson was back, and he didn't have much time.

He ran upstairs, hid it in his suitcase, and went back downstairs to greet the teens. He found, to his surprise and shock, that they were roughhousing with the young boys. All was well, for now. But soon, he would have to talk to the children about their injuries. As Mr. Johnson came outside, he gave Jack a stern look and pulled him aside to talk. Artemis heard the whole conversation.

"OK, Jack, you think what you did is good? Look inside Owens room as you go up to yours. I don't want to see you until dinner. I'm to upset to talk to you right now."

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

Artemis mouthed a 'thank you' to Jack as he brushed past him up the stairs.

Dinner that night was delicious and well prepared. But then again, shrimp and pasta in an alfredo sauce would be delicious to anybody. Artemis waited in his room until Mr. Johnson had lectured Jack to his liking and went back downstairs to clean up the dishes. He played science quiz of death with Beckett and Myles until the coast was clear. After that, he patted them on the heads and left them to read books he had taken from home.

As he entered the hallway with his camera and notebook in hand, he thought about the scars he might see and the stories that might be choked out. He tried not to think about it and went to the first room that Keith and Neil shared. Tonight would be painful, he thought to himself, but if it meant keeping his new friends safe, it was worth it.


	11. Zack Speaks

Zack Speaks

**A/N: Hello, readers! I have something serious to tell you. No, really, I'm not crying wolf or anything. Last night, I was doing a Google search and had a sudden interest in the Italian Mafia! So, I did a search, clicked on a link, and got a virus on my computer. Now, I am on a school computer in the library. The good news is that I can stay here for some time and type a chapter a day for you guys, the bad news is that I can't type or upload from my home computer. So, here's a new chapter. I will be writing in school until I can get my home computer fixed. **

Artemis cringed at the thought of taking pictures of the scars left behind from Mrs. Johnson's abuse, but he knew that in order to complete his plan of making the foster home safe, he would have to do this. After taking a few deep breaths, he went over to Beckett, his first victim.

"Beckett, would you please look at the camera?" Artemis asked, showing his brothers the file.

"Oh, is it to take the picture of my bruise?" Beckett asked calmly.

Artemis nodded and took the photo. After that, he wrote down in neat handwriting what had happened to Beckett on his first night in the foster home.

_Beckett-suffered from bruising after Mrs. Johnson punched him in the face because she caught him crying at 10 pm. Injury in the photo was sustained 5 days prior. _

Artemis left the room his brothers were in and went to all three children's rooms to go through the same painful process. It was not easy listening to them cry as they described what happened to them at the hands of Mrs. Johnson. He got the pictures taken and had to develop them later, but for now, he only cared about where the injuries came from.

In Keith and Neil's room, Artemis had taken pictures and written down two accounts and general descriptions.

_Keith-sustained multiple scars on his arms and shoulders after Mrs. Johnson beat him with a hot iron. Bruises took one week to heal. Claims that this was not the first or last beating that he took from her._

_Neil-sustained multiple scars from broken beer bottles being thrown at him. Covers a majority of his arms. _

In Connor's room, Artemis took pictures and got a painful tale to match the burn scars on Connor's back.

_Connor-sustained the burn scars after Mrs. Johnson forced his arm into the flame of the stovetop while he ran into her while she cooked dinner. Some boiling water was thrown at him, but he dodged it. _

After the children's pictures and stories were taken into the folder that Artemis was creating, he took a break and went into the bathroom. He washed his face with cold water and took deep breaths, trying to rid his mind of the painful thoughts. He knew that in order to continue this documentation, he needed to be emotionally stable.

After the children had spoken to him, he moved onto the teenagers. From Owen, he got a picture of cigarette burns and took down the account of abuse.

_Owen-sustained cigarette burns from Mrs. Johnson after he was caught running around the house multiple times as a ten year old. After that, the process continued until he was twelve. _

Artemis went to Jack's room next, a dark place with a desk, bed, and lamp to illuminate whatever he was writing. Artemis soon found out that it was a journal and asked Jack if he could show it to the authorities. Jack nodded and said that separate from the scar on his arm, he had sustained other injuries that were documented in the journal. Artemis took it with him after getting the account of Jack's scar.

_Jack-sustained a knife wound by Mrs. Johnson when she was experiencing an alcohol withdrawal. She had attempted to stab Connor, but Jack blocked the blow and hospitalization was needed for two days. _

Artemis stayed in Jack's room for a few moments in thought. The final victim here was Zack, and because he was mute, Artemis had his concerns about getting any evidence from him. Jack understood this and led Artemis to Zack's room.

Upon gaining entrance to Zack's room, Artemis noted that it was loaded with old food containers, trash bags, and posters. He noted that there were several spiral notebooks that were full of writing and drawing, and that there was a CD player that was no longer working on the messy bed. In conclusion, Artemis found out that Zack was a hoarder. He didn't say anything so as not to offend a potential giver of evidence, but he instead politely asked Zack if he was willing to add to the file that Artemis was building. After thinking about it for a minute, Zack nodded and let the couple into his room.

"Hey, man, don't give us that look, Art's a friend of ours if he wants to get Mrs. Johnson out of here," Jack reprimanded.

Zack narrowed his eyes at Artemis and reached out, grabbing the file. Artemis gasped and pulled away as Jack intervened. A loud thud was heard as Jack pushed Zack into the wall and bared his teeth.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you get it yet? The bitch is killing us! Look at this, just LOOK!" Jack roared, baring his scarred arm.

Zack struggled and ran at Artemis, trying once again to grab at him. At this point, Artemis knew that there was only one choice. He had to fight. He put the files down and ran at Zack. They both clashed in the middle of the room in a wrestle. Artemis had learned much from Butler, and had actually payed attention when the self defense lessons took place. He tripped Zack and pinned him down with Butler's special arm-leg lock.

"Listen to me, and I won't hurt you," Artemis panted frantically.

Jack stared in amazement at what had just occurred. Not only had the nerd actually beaten the sulky silent boy, but now, Zack was being addressed directly for the first time since he got here. For the most part, the other teens had ignored or avoided Zack in order to feel comfortable, but Art was fearless. For that, Jack admired him.

"I have a duty to my foster brothers, and so do you! The only way you can be productive in your years here is to help me keep the children safe! Is that not why you and your teenage peers hold meetings in the cellar? Because you have a mission to keep the home safe? Well, I have a plan that will eradicate the very threat that hurt the kids here! So, if you will, I want to ask you questions, and I better damn well get some answers from you!" Artemis roared.

Zack shook as Artemis slowly eased off of him and let his wrists go. Artemis kept a close eye on Zack as he got up and sat on the bed, waiting for questions.

"OK, now that that incident is over, you know not to cross me," Artemis said casually.

Zack cleared his throat and said, ever so softly, "OK, I'm listening. Douche."

Jack pumped his fists in the air and said, "Yeah! He _can _talk!"

Artemis felt a smirk crossing his features and chuckled a bit.

"It took a beating to get that out of you, eh, friend?"

"Kinda. I don't talk at all after what happened at home. But that's not what you're here for, right?" Zack asked.

"Indeed, I am here for another purpose entirely. You only have to show me any physical damage that you have sustained at the hands of Mrs. Johnson. In this way, we can finally rid the foster home of it's threat. The children will be safe once more, and potentially grow as they should," Artemis nodded, camera and pen at hand.

"OK, but you can't tell anybody else. Here goes," Zack sighed, taking off his hoodie.

Artemis and Jack stared in awe and horror at what was on Zack's body. Among erratic scars splayed across the skin, there were _words _etched into the flesh. It was on his back, so this could only mean that instead of being self inflicted, they were carved by another individual.

"W-what happened to you, man?" Jack gasped.

Artemis snapped two photos to get an image of the entire span of damage as Zack began to talk. By the end of the interview, Artemis had this written.

_Zack-sustained the worst of the abuse when Mrs. Johnson was drunk past consciousness one night and took a razor blade from the bathroom and forced him down as she carved words and patterns into his skin. It was excruciating and has left permanent scarring on his back and shoulders. The erratic scarring was from a belt she used on him when he first misbehaved here. _

Artemis left the room in shock and stared at the file of eight pages of child-abuse evidence. Mrs. Johnson was a truly sick woman, and Artemis knew that the only thing left to do now was to show it to the social worker next time he visited. Mr. Johnson had informed all of the kids at dinner that tomorrow was a visiting day. As Artemis prepared himself and the twins for bed that night, he looked out of the window to the grey street below.

_I will ensure that none of these things happen to them again. No new scars will be gained here after I'm through._


	12. Guess Who's Home!

Guess Who's Home?

**A/N: This is one SCARY chapter! Hold on to your socks, people! Mrs. Johnson returns! DUN DUN DUN!**

**OK, on with the chappie.**

The morning breeze glided through the window curtains of the kitchen and brushed the back of Artemis's head. He gazed upon the multiple children surrounding him, munching away at their cereal. Today was a big day for all of them, and a sense of rebellion and oncoming feedom was in the kitchen air. As the children chatted away happily, Mr. Johnson came in and ate breakfast with them.

"Hey, kids, today the social worker will be here around noon, so just get ready before then. We can play games this morning, but after that, you need to talk to her individually. The older boys need to stay here after breakfast. I think they know why."

Mr. Johnson caused the shoulders of every adolescent at the table to jolt upward in shock. How could he have known? Perhaps the scuffle with Artemis Fowl the great fighter was heard last night. Mr. Johnson casually ate and read the paper as the children ran upstairs after breakfast and chose to play in their rooms until the 'talk' with the teens was over.

Mr. Johnson set his paper down and looked to Artemis. A smile spread across his bearded face and he chuckled.

"Oh, Artemis the genius. I know how it works. You see, I have been watching closer than you boys think. I know that you all have a plan to fix things around here, and so far, it's looking great. My only suggestion; don't blow your cover around Mrs. Johnson. She'll be back today. She always comes back."

All of the teens let out a sigh of relief as Mr. Johnson continued to speak in a way that would help them complete the final phase of their plan.

"Those photos Artemis took will help in the investigation against my wife, but you guys have to get them developed, right? I will do this in the bathroom upstairs with Zack. He may not talk, but boy can he help," Mr. Johnson continued.

"Excuse me, Mr. Johnson, but I do have a few questions for you," Artemis said quietly.

"Sure, shoot," Mr. Johnson said, leaning on his elbows to listen.

"You claim that you have been watching us for some time now. I simply wonder why you never tried to intervene? This plan of ours involved much stealth, and because of my actions, you no longer have an activated security system in your house. Are you not upset that we have lied and stolen to achieve this goal?" Artemis asked casually.

"Nah, I'm fine with it if it involves helping those poor kids. They've been through hell, Artemis. I know that you're smart enough to figure all of that out. So, I laid back and watched as your plan unfolded. Though I do wonder why Owen and Jack went at it the other night. Mind explaining that?"

Owen jumped in at this point, seeing as Mr. Johnson already knew, there were no more secrets to be kept.

"Well, it all began when we needed to give Artemis time on the computer. His parents never really abused him, as he claims, and he just wants to get out of here. So, we created diversions and pretended to beat the crap out of each other. This bought him some time," Owen said quietly.

"No problem at all, Owen. Just as long as you deleted the history and everything. My wife is the one who installed the internet monitoring device. Though I highly doubt that deactivating it was an issue for Master Fowl over here," Mr. Johnson chuckled.

"I just can't believe that you see it our way! I mean, we shouldn't have been hiding all this time!" Mike jumped in.

"Well, in a way, it's better that I kept quiet about it. You see, Mrs. Johnson has a way of figuring out if I'm hiding something, and if you guys had told me about this earlier, she would have gone haywire," Mr. Johnson explained.

"Alright, the final phase of our plan should be executed, then! I will need some time alone with Mr. Silvernail before any of the children speak with him. I have built a file of evidence that is sure to get Mrs. Johnson jailed for her crimes," Artemis began.

Mr. Johnson nodded and waved for Artemis to continue.

"I would also like to tell you that I have built a file that will get my brothers and I back home where we belong. It has been an honor to live here with all of you as a foster family, but I really must go back home. My parents are worried sick," Artemis explained.

All of the men at the table nodded and shook on completing the plan.

By noon when the social worker arrived, the photos had been developed and Artemis Fowl was ready. He would show Mr. Silvernail his completed evidence packets, and he would complete his job here.

The doorbell rang on cue, and the social worker nodded to Mr. Johnson and entered with a grim expression. Artemis sat at the kitchen table, files in hand. He trembled at the sight of the man who had broken his family apart, but then stiffened his upper lip. He knew better than to back down now. As the social worker came in, Artemis cleared his throat.

Mr. Silvernail took a seat next to him and raised an eyebrow as Artemis placed in front of him the binder about the children in this foster home. He opened it and took about ten minutes to complete reading it through. After that, he took his glasses off and looked directly at Artemis.

"This evidence is…truly disturbing. I must contact the authorities and get this woman arrested for child abuse. I am so sorry that I did not see any of this before. It could have saved the kids here many years of abuse. Thank you, Artemis. Now, if we can just take a look at the next binder that you wanted to show me-" WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

Artemis gasped, the social worker reeled around, and they both took in a sight that they had hoped never to see.

Mrs. Johnson seethed through yellowed teeth at them, a beer bottle in hand.

The social worker stood up and got in front of Artemis.

"I have evidence against you, Mrs. Johnson. You could spend years in jail for what you have done!" Mr. Silvernail cried.

"Well, let's see this 'evidence' that our genius Artemis has built!" Mrs. Johnson hissed, striding around the social worker to tear open the binder.

Pages flew out of it as her spidery hands ripped out pages of information and photos. She slammed the binder down on the kitchen table and looked at Artemis, ready to pounce.

And pounce she did. Artemis didn't see that the beer bottle had been broken, or that Mrs. Johnson was sober when she attacked him. Like a tiger, she leapt at him and knocked him from the chair to the tiles of the kitchen floor. He cried out in shock and pain as she grabbed his hair and pulled as hard as she could.

"You bastard! You dick! I'll…I'll kill you! I'll murder you!" the rabid woman shrieked like a banshee.

Artemis swung his fists into her face and shoulders, refusing to lose the fight. She Held the jagged edge of glass to his throat and he froze in place.

"Not so cocky now, are you, little shit?" She laughed manically.

Artemis's eyes rolled over to the side so that he could see what was going on near the kitchen door. Mr. Johnson was calling the police on his cell phone, and the social worker was nudging the group of gathered children outside of the room.

"You kids don't want to see this, just go to your rooms. I'll stand by the door and make sure she doesn't come after you, too! Zack, Jack, Mike, Owen! Get over here now! Help Artemis!" Mr. Silvernail roared.

The four teens didn't speak, but moved swiftly into the kitchen. Owen had brought a heavy wine bottle and the other boys bore no weapons. They had will power.

Mrs. Johnson didn't hear the teens creeping in behind her. She was too busy screaming threats in Artemis's face. A loud crash, like thunder, rang throughout the foster home. Green glass exploded over Mrs. Johnson's head, and she went limp without a sound, crashing onto Artemis and dropping the beer bottle. Artemis struggled beneath the dead weight, attempting to roll out from under her.

The teens pulled her off and out of the house, dumping her on the front lawn. Just as she was about to wake up, the boys all ran indoors and slammed the doors, locking them with deadbolts, chains, and basic locks. Not trusting that those would keep her out, the boys began to barricade the windows with old boards and stood guard by them, waiting for police sirens to wail throughout the neighborhood.

They heard a scuffle outside, screaming and fighting in the grass. The police almost had her before she punched one of them. This move was met with swift consequences; a police officer rendered her unconscious again and handcuffed her before he slung her over his shoulder and nodded to his partner to open the car door.

"Wow, she put up a fight!" one of them panted.

As the car drove off, Artemis got off of the floor and noticed that the children had stampeded down the stairs to see the arrest. They all remained silent for a few moments before one of them, Keith of course, cheered loudly.

"Yeah, the bitch is gone! HELL YEAH!" Keith roared, jumping up and down.

Mr. Johnson's eyes nearly popped out of his head before he burst out into laughter, releasing the tension that they had all felt for years.

A collaborative cheer rang throughout the house, and even Mr. Silvernail was smiling upon the joy. The kids ran out of the house and onto the front lawn, dancing and cheering loudly.

Artemis waited for the teens to come back into the kitchen and noted that one of them, Zack, was crying. He saw Jack put an arm around his foster brother and whisper something that he could not hear over the cheering outside.

"Artemis? Please come with me into the study. Mr. Silvernail has something to tell you," Mr. Johnson beamed.

Artemis felt his heart leaping and trying to get a steady rhythm after what had just occurred. He followed Mr. Silvernail into the dreaded steaming study and sat down on a chair, sweating through his clothes.

"Artemis, I am going over your second file now. According to this, the man who reported your father for abuse is actually a mafia member himself…connected to your father," Mr. Silvernail began.

"I insist that you hear out my side of the story, Mr. Silvernail! I have had a terrible time here, and one of my brothers was physically abused by the woman who just assaulted me! I demand that you return my brothers and I to our home! My father never touched any of us! Now, you may look at a criminal record from three years ago and believe that he is evil, but let me tell you that it is simply a past! Everybody has something that they are ashamed of, but that does not give you any right to tear a family apart based upon information given to you by a corrupted BASTARD!"

Artemis flinched at the last word, not realizing that he had it in him to resort to profanity. But at this time, he was desperate, and he loathed the notion of staying in foster care systems until he was eighteen. He wanted his brothers to grow up normally, and this past week was the most traumatizing thing that the twins had faced during their short ten years.

"Artemis, allow me to continue. I believe that with the records showing that this man is currently in the mafia, he is no longer a credible source for the allegations of child abuse. I wanted to tell you to pack your bags and get your brothers because you are all going to be taken back home tonight," MR. Silvernail snapped.

Artemis paused and let the tension hang in the summer air, dust drifting like snow between Mr. Silvernail and himself. He took a deep breath and released it through his mouth, leaning back in the sticky leather chair.

"Oh, I see. Well, then, I…thank you for your time, sir. Please, if you will, I would like to stay here for an hour more before being taken back home."

"Very good, young Artemis. I trust that you will be ready by seven."

"I will, sir."

Artemis shook Mr. Silvernail's sweating hand and left to find his brothers in the party outside.


	13. Goodbye, Brothers

Goodbye, Brothers

A/N: Hello, fellow readers! Oh, why looking so hostile? Wait, is that a switchblade? OH, that's right! I haven't updated for many weeks, have I?

**One of the audience members throws a can at my head. **

**Me: OW! OK, I get it! I'll start the new chapter, sheesh!**

**Crowd Member 1: Damn straight! It's been too long!**

**Artemis approaches me and narrows his eyes. I gulp.**

**Artemis: Let me start out by telling you that your string of M rated…writing between Minerva and I was completely disastrous and uncalled for! It was also horrendously outrageous and inappropriate! Do you have any idea what Orion has been doing because of that?**

**Orion starts to snicker in the back of Artemis's head.**

**Orion: **_**OH, somebody loves to give maidens a good spanking! Not to worry, brute, many people have such a fetish!**_

**Artemis punches the wall and Orion stops chuckling. He glares daggers at me and continues.**

**Artemis (PISSED NOW): I must also tell you that if you **_**ever **_**try to do that with me again, I will have Butler use some…creative motivational techniques on you! Butler!**

**Butler comes onto the stage with a German Torture Device!**

**Artemis: This will teach you to keep your mind out of the gutters of Dublin!**

**Me: OK! I'll write! Oh, and by the way, I'm not in Dublin! I'm in the USA! Arty… **

**Artemis: Lass from Hell.**

OK, on with the chappie! If I owned the A/F characters, none of the books would have been the same…because I'm demented! Yaw for being demented! This word program doesn't know that people say 'yay' about one thousand times a week in the English language! OK, seriously, I'm done now, if you want to read the story, just skip the bold text at the beginning of nearly every chapter.

Artemis stepped into the burning August sun that shone upon the dancing foster children. The younger children were running wild; all except Myles, of course. The older teenagers were mocking Mrs. Johnson and bellowing out their liberation. Artemis chuckled to himself and went over to a sulking Myles.

"Don't be so sour, Myles, because I have great news for you! I only must find Beckett and then we can talk about what Mr. Silvernail just-"WORM ATTACK!"

Artemis didn't have time to question the sudden screamed statement in his ear as a bucket of worms was dumped slowly down his sweat stained shirt. He was in too much shock to yell at a laughing, clapping Beckett. Myles actually high-fived his mischievous look-alike. Artemis froze for only a few seconds before completely losing it. He cried out in shock and laughter as he shook wriggling worms from his body like a large boa constrictor covered in ants.

After the uproarious laughter from the teens and Artemis had subsided, he once more turned to his two troublesome twins. He put a hand on each of their shoulders and beamed at them. Myles cringed at this unnatural countenance, but Beckett merely smiled back.

"Do you know what Mr. Silvernail has just told me?"

Myles shook his head slowly but pretty much predicted what Artemis was about to say next. Beckett was trying to get out of his brother's grip to run along with Keith. Keith called out to Beckett, waving his arms and screeching.

"I wanna _play, _Artemis! Make it quick!"

"Be patient, little Beckett, and hear what I must tell you! We are going home tonight! The social worker has seen my evidence file, and Mrs. Johnson has been arrested. Mr. Johnson and I have spoken and agreed, with Mr. Silvernail, that we do not belong in the foster care system any longer! Today will be our last day away from home!"

Myles slowly let a grin spread across his face. Beckett leaped in the air and screamed something that Artemis normally would have admonished on the spot.

"HELL YEAH!"

Artemis ruffled Beckett's unruly curls and patted him on the head before letting him bolt after a hyper Keith. Myles hugged Artemis tightly in a bout of emotional relief, but soon found the need to amend his emotional display. Ever the businessman, Myles cleared his throat and straightened his shirt.

"My apologies, Artemis, I was simply caught up in a moment of uncontainable emotion-

Before he finished his sentence, Artemis scooped him up and laughed out loud.

"Myles, don't be so _stiff! _It is unnatural for one of your age!"

Myles nodded, seriously shocked now. Artemis had not ever been so folly. Indeed, an inner part of Myles actually liked that. But he would never say that to his elder; he had to remain ever the scholar.

After putting an enlightened Myles down to run off with Connor, Artemis noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Jack was beckoning to him with a curious expression on his young features. Artemis soon understood that the other teens would have to be updated about the recent news he had received. He became nervous about telling his foster brothers that he would no longer be a part of their family. But, ever the brave man, Artemis approached the group.

Jack was the first to ask questions.

"You seemed flat out uncharacteristic, there, Master Fowl! What is this I hear about going home?"

The other teens waited for an answer and Artemis thought for a while.

_If I tell them everything, then that wouldn't be fair to my family. We do deserve our privacy. But they consider me a brother of sorts. Perhaps if I just told them the basics…_

"he's spacing out again! Wow, what is with this guy?"

Mike's voice brought Artemis out of his pensive state and he cleared his throat to get the group's attention.

"My friends, I was recently informed by Mr. Silvernail that the man who accused my father of child abuse is a fraud. He was accusing my father of this crime in order to get revenge for personal reasons. I will not go into details on the grounds that I respect my father's privacy. However, it is crucial to know that my brothers and I will be leaving this foster home at eight tonight."

The teens grew silent and still for a moment. Mike shook a bit with repressed waves of energy, but the rest of the group simply took time to absorb the news. While it made sense why Artemis could go back home, they couldn't deny that without him, they would be hopeless. Mrs. Johnson was gone now because Artemis Fowl II had liberated them with a brilliant plan. In a way, they felt an obligation to their foster brother, even if he _was _only there for a week.

Owen looked at Zack and nodded, deciding that it would be best for him to practice speaking to and showing gratitude towards a peer. With a paternal look, Owen patted Zack on the back and let him make his way over to Artemis. Artemis waited patiently for a thank you from Zack. The rest of the adolescents grew silent; for Zack to speak was truly momentous. The only thing that kept the group aware of the world surrounding them was the sound of liberated, screaming foster children, swarming about like wasps in the August sun.

Zack cleared his throat and put a gentle hand on Artemis's shoulder.

"I wanted to say…thanks for everything. You really don't know how much you've done."

As if Zack had made a speech at the Oscars, the brotherhood of rebels applauded; Mike being the loudest, of course. Artemis then joined his brotherhood in chasing the trouble making children about the grounds of Mr. Johnson's foster home. As the sun started to set that hot summer day, Artemis knew that dinner tonight would be particularly crucial to his growth. He went inside with a group of dirt and sand covered children, looking at his twin brothers. They were in sync, grinning and laughing at each other's downfalls that day.

At dinner that evening, the foster kids knew that the Fowl trio was leaving them. While it didn't particularly upset any of the people there, the brotherhood of rebels chose to do one final thing in return for Artemis's help.

To Artemis, they presented a watch that Mr. Johnson had agreed to buy for him. It was a beauty- black metal and glowing blue watch hands. Artemis put it on and chuckled as Owen tried to come up with a good explanation about the gift.

"As geniuses such as we know, time _is_ of the essence…"

Artemis embraced all of the adolescents there after they convinced him, with smirks, that it _was _natural to show some kind of affection towards your friends. Beckett and Myles assured a pouting group of boys that they would be back to visit someday. Whether or not this was the truth, it seemed to comfort the foster children. Just after Artemis had packed his bags and made sure that Beckett had not lost anything, the doorbell rang. All of the foster kids grouped together in the main entrance hall to see Mr. Silvernail, with his car, speaking to Mr. Johnson.

"Mr. Johnson, we will be taking Artemis, Myles, and Beckett home now. Please let them come out to the car. It's a two hour ride home for them," Mr. Silvernail said dryly.

Mr. Johnson didn't have to call for the trio, as they were walking down the hall by the time he turned to call them. Artemis shook Mr. Johnson's hand and looked into his eyes as he thanked the youth for getting Mrs. Johnson out of the home once and for all. The kids waved goodbye and before the three Fowl children knew it, they were on the ride back home.

Artemis had never seen the twins so restless. They fidgeted and attempted to play a game of 'I-spy' but it still was not enough to calm their fired up nerves. Artemis got an idea about fifteen minutes into the ride.

"Myles, Beckett, why not listen to a story?"

Beckett immediately stopped bouncing up and down and Myles stopped glaring at him. They both waited for Artemis to begin.

"In Dublin, there was a social worker named Mr. Silvernail…"

From the driver's seat came a groan of protest. Artemis let his vampire grin show in the rearview mirror. Mr. Silvernail sighed and continued driving as Artemis wove his tale for the twin's entertainment.

"He loved, more than anything, to travel with his lover to Paris. There, they found a magical…"

After the story was finished, Myles was smiling and Beckett was giggling madly. Mr. Silvernail concealed his blush by looking straight ahead at the road. After a game of 'science questions of Death,' Artemis had tickled an unwitting Beckett about twenty times, and Myles had laughed uproariously at his attempted answers.

It was not true at all that the Moon revolved around the sun along with the rest of the solar system bodies, and it was absurd that Beckett had it in is head that a spider was in the phylum of Mollusca. But Artemis was quick to forgive his less intelligent brother, for which a laughing Beckett was grateful; had Artemis continued his tickle torture, his spleen surely would have burst.

The moment finally came when the roads became familiar to all three siblings. Off of any main road in Dublin, the rocky road up the hill to Fowl Manor came into view. The twins remained silent as ghosts. Artemis's heart began to pound. He remembered Father and Mother. What of their emotional state? How would they react to this sudden arrival home? Artemis had yet to find out, but could practically imagine what would happen. Angeline, being the affectionate and doting mother, would flood them with physical affections, which they would reluctantly reciprocate, blushes on their faces. Father would bellow out laughter and scoop up the twins, 'my boys! My sons!'

But Artemis grew anxious about his arrival. He knew that the relationship between him and his Father was never…quite so intimate. He had never stolen attention from his father as a young one, and the only real physical contact that he had known with his father was the usual gangster-slap-on-the-back. Angeline had always been in some kind of mood swing, so he never knew what to expect from her. There were days where she held him sobbing, makeup streaked face pressed to his shirt. There were other days where her fingers simply danced over his features while she murmured some incoherent logic.

Artemis knew that because his family was one again, he would have to get used to their, shall we say, sentiments. He was not uncomfortable with the idea entirely; Beckett and Myles required such affections when Mother and Father were not present.

He had also learned from the foster home many things regarding what a true family is. He understood, after fighting a terrible force within that home, that his family was strong because they had stuck together through the most difficult times. Mr. Fowl's absence was long forgotten by the rest of the family, but because Artemis had made a certain promise to his father, he had to be reminded of it every time he went to therapy with Father…

But now was not the time to start wallowing in his pensive state; the small car had parked in front of the main gate. Mr. Silvernail rang the bell, and in another security room, Butler gazed at the man with Artemis, Myles, and Beckett in the backseat. Without any hesitation, he pressed the button to open the ancient wrought iron gate and went to notify the heads of the Fowl clan that their sons were home.


	14. AN CHAPTER!

**This is an A/N chapter**

**OK, PEOPLE! Let me tell you first and foremost that I am grateful for your loyalty and comments! I also wanted to let you know that there is one more story coming your way about Artemis and his father's relationship! Although the foster home is no longer a complication for Artemis, he has to face the thing he suppresses most; the anxiety over his relationship with father. He also has to-oh wait, here he comes now. Yep, he's rolling up his sleeves. Yep, he's pissed…OK, let's see what he has to say!**

**Artemis: You unbelievable little! Oh, when I get my hands on you!**

**Me: calm down, wimp. **

**Artemis: have you any idea how terrible it is of you to keep bringing my father into this?**

**Me: Oh, feeling insecure? Well, that's just fine, because it is that very insecurity which will fuel my next story! So, Artemis, keep ranting and raving, but know this! There is another woe that you must face in my next chapter! **

**Artemis: Oh, D'arvit-**

**Me: ORION!**

**Artemis clasps his hands and wails in defeat. I grin from ear to ear, and Orion starts to laugh robustly in Artemis's head.**

**Orion: **_**oh, my Brute, how WONDERFUL! I get to make yet another appearance! We shall please the king, and go to school together, and live as one as I slowly drive you to insanity!**_

**Artemis starts to bang his head slowly against a wall as I continue to gleefully tell him of my next plans for his life!**

**Me: And guess what! Orion shows himself at Artemis's school!**

**Artemis collapses to the ground in defeat and groans as Orion continues his jubilant rant about how **_**wonderful **_**it will be to make an appearance in my next installment of the Father Fowl series! And, to make this interesting, I have chosen to let a random circumstance occur that will awaken Orion!**

**Artemis: what kind of abominable plot-**

**A volley ball, once again out of nowhere, hurls itself at Arty's head and he gets knocked out before he can call me a-**

**Arty: That's not how you say it, lass from hell…**

**Artemis faints. I raise an eyebrow.**

**Me: WOW. OK, then, guess he always gets the last word…until next time, my readers! Hahahahaha! I'm evil. **

**OK, end of A/N! **

**Proceed to the next story, Father Fowl III!**


End file.
